Harry Potter and the Legion of Ho-oh
by WolfsbaneKnight
Summary: [Fifth in the HP/Pokémon series]. Voldemort's back. War has come. Yet the Ministry refuse to see it. As Harry enters his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Pokemon Training he does so with dread, not just for the Dark Lord's sinister plans, but for how far the Ministry are willing to go to deny them. All the while there is one glimmer of hope... the Legion of Ho-oh is reborn.
1. Piers Polkiss

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello and welcome to the fifth instalment of my Harry Potter/Pokemon series: Harry Potter and the Legion of Ho-oh. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far and that you will enjoy this part of it as well.

Before we begin, in response to a review on the last chapter of 'Trials of Champions', I would like to say that Percy won't be turning his back on his family. I always imagined that if Percy had heard the story from Harry himself, like he does in 'Trials of Champions', rather than through rumours and second hand stories, he would never have been as easily swayed to the Ministry's point of view. In this story the shoe is on the other foot. The Ministry still want to use Percy to get at the Weasleys, and by proxy Dumbledore, but this time Percy is aware and is not going to allow himself to be manipulated, playing the role of a Ministry stooge while secretly doing what he can to help Dumbledore and the Legion in the war against Voldemort.

Anyway, now that that's out of the way we can get on to the story. Enjoy!

* * *

In the quiet little suburb of Little Whinging, Surrey, sat a house, Number 4 Privet Drive, in which everything was normal. There was nothing unusual, or even remotely interesting, and the people inside were really quite content with their lives.

Harry Potter was not in Number 4 Privet Drive. He was some way away in the local park, sitting on the one remaining swing that hadn't been ruined by vandals. He was mostly alone, the time getting late and all the young kids and their parents having already left, but he felt no desire to leave.

Life at the Dursleys had never been easy, but usually the reason for that had been the Dursleys themselves. Now Harry had problems much more worrisome than Dudley's bullying, Aunt Petunia's chores, and Uncle Vernon's disapprovals. His problems kept him up at night.

Just a couple of months ago Harry had found himself in a position more perilous than any he'd ever been in before, alone, tied to a headstone, with Lord Voldemort standing in front of him. The most evil trainer in living memory had been unwise to allow Harry the chance to defend himself, allowing Harry to return to the safety of Hogwarts with his fellow student's body, Cedric Diggory, to warn everyone that Voldemort had returned.

Since then Harry had been carted back to the Dursleys with the promise that he wouldn't be there for long and… nothing. Nothing had happened. Voldemort, wherever he was and whatever he was doing, was completely silent. There was not even a whisper of his doings. No unexplained deaths, no unnatural disasters, nothing. It worried Harry.

A breeze, something almost unheard of during what had been the hottest summer in living memory, blew across Harry and with it came the sound of voices. Harry wasn't surprised to hear them, though he was disappointed.

Dudley and his gang came into view just a few seconds after Harry became aware of their approach. Very little had changed. The same boys, Malcolm, Dennis, Gordon, followed around with Dudley everywhere, delighting in terrorising the younger children in the neighbourhood. Five years ago Harry had been a prime candidate for harassment, since he could never tell on them to his parents and fuelled by Dudley's intense dislike for him. But now things were different. Harry's time at Hogwarts had removed him from Dudley's gang's radar and he was left mostly alone.

Still, Harry wasn't going to hang around. Dudley's gang may not actively seek him out anymore but they weren't above having a go at him if given the chance. Harry supposed it was the nostalgia.

He stood up.

"See ya, Dud," Malcolm called, walking away from the group and towards home.

"Catch ya later, Big D," Gordon copied, punching Dudley on the arm as he too left.

Harry ignored the goodbyes, instead heading to the far side of the park and onto the deserted streets of Little Whinging, heading laboriously back towards Privet Drive. Harry didn't want to return, but he knew only too well that his Aunt and Uncle would raise a fuss if he was back later than Dudley. It was always easier to avoid antagonising his relatives more than necessary.

Besides, he thought as he let out a long yawn, he was tired. The night before he'd managed no more than a couple of hours sleep, something that had happened more than once since his return to the muggle world. Every night when he closed his eyes he was witness to the same visions, Nagini's brutal attack, Voldemort's solidifying form, Cedric's lifeless eyes staring up at the night. Even when he was awake the images would haunt him.

"Hey, Potter!" Harry let out a silent moan. He'd been trying to avoid this.

He had been walking down a small path connecting Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk, a somewhat unusual route to be taking to Privet Drive which was the exact reason he had chosen it. To avoid situations just like this.

Dudley was approaching, accompanied by perhaps the worst of Dudley's gang members, Piers Polkiss. Piers was a scrawny boy, and quite unattractive too, with shrewd eyes and a distinctly rat like face. While most of Dudley's gang were big and muscular and could frighten a kid three years their junior just by looking at them, Piers stood out as the brains of the group. Which was why Harry felt he was the worst. The others could be forgiven for simply being too stupid. Piers enjoyed what he did.

It was Piers who had called Harry's name, having spotted him with his beady eyes from the other end of the alleyway, and it was Piers who reached Harry first, not half as wary of the dark haired boy as Dudley was. Dudley had good reason to be afraid.

"Yes," Harry said with false politeness, all the while moving a hand towards the Pokéballs on his belt. It was never a good idea to trust Piers Polkiss.

"Watcha doing?" Piers asked, leering at him. "Saw you in the park back there. What, not gonna say hello?"

"Hello," Harry said simply. Piers grinned.

"You've been hiding," he said, poking a finger into Harry's chest. Harry refused to back down. "Haven't had a good talkin' with you in years, have we Dud?" But Dudley wasn't looking as eager for the brewing fight as Piers was.

"Come on," he muttered, gesturing with his head back the way he had come. Piers expression lost its mock friendly tone.

"Fuck this," he spat, literally, on the ground. "You're going soft, Dud. You're letting him get above his station. Mouthin' off, acting like he ain't worthless trash. You need to stamp him out." Piers reached out and grabbed a fistful of Harry's shirt. Harry pushed him away.

"Shove off," Harry snapped, more forcefully than he'd meant too. He'd have been better off saying nothing as now Piers's attention was drawn back to him.

"Or what?" he threatened. "What you gonna do to me orphan boy? Cry to your mother? That ain't gonna work, that bitch dead." Harry saw red. Ignoring all reasoning telling him Piers was trying to wind him up Harry grabbed hold of a Pokéball.

"You think that's gonna scare me?" Piers challenged, staring back at Harry unflinchingly despite the Pokéball in his hand. "Bring it. I ain't scared of the likes of you."

Harry, meanwhile, was doing his best to get a hold of himself. Normally taunting like this wouldn't get to him, he had too much experience, first with Dudley's gang and their childish cruelty and later with Draco Malfoy and his cutting barbs. But he was tired, exhausted even, and completely on edge at the thought that Voldemort could attack at any moment.

He took a breath and lowered his Pokéball. This wasn't a battle he ought to fight.

Piers, however, looked triumphant.

"Told ya, Dud," he said, sneering at Harry. "Pathetic. Can't even stand up for himself, the weak fucker. Good thing his parents snuffed it and didn't have to see how useless he turned out." Dudley seemed to realise Piers had gone too far, evidenced as his face went white. Harry wondered if he was thinking about the incident with Aunt Marge's bulldog Ripper two years ago. That's what Harry was thinking about.

He pressed the button on the Pokéball.

He could not see his partner Pokémon appear, but he could feel his presence at his back, the familiar warmth of the living, breathing fire type having his back, while he could watch Dudley and Piers slowly look up at the creature behind him and gulp. Charizard growled.

"AHHHHH!" Piers Polkiss, fearless just a moment ago, ran for it, screaming at the top of his voice as he tore down the path back the way he had come. A moment later a loud splash sounded and the scream was cut off.

"You should probably go check on him," Harry suggested calmly. Dudley did not act as though he had heard. He was staring up at Charizard's head, his face deathly pale as his mouth hung open.

"That's…" Dudley stuttered, pointing a shaking finger at the Pokémon. "That thing… It's… I mean… what…" Harry waited patiently for Dudley to string his words together, somewhat interested in exactly what question Dudley's mind would come up with. He found it morbidly amusing.

"Is that the thing… the same one as… before?" Dudley gasped out. That was slightly surprising, though not completely unexpected.

"He's grown a lot," Harry told him. "But yeah. He's my first Pokémon. The same one as two years ago and the same one as two years before that. He's my partner." Dudley gulped.

"That's, that's unfair," he stammered out. "You shouldn't have… it's unfair, he's too… why do you get something so… powerful?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. This was the first time Harry had heard Dudley say anything about Pokémon that wasn't completely negative. Could it be possible that Dudley actually quite liked Pokémon?

It was more likely Dudley just liked the idea of having a Pokémon. It would make him the king of Little Whinging, no one would stand in his way if he had a Charizard.

"Life isn't fair," Harry said simply. "If it was fair I wouldn't be stuck living with you lot but I'm stuck here anyway. Stop complaining. You have no idea how much you've got." Harry glanced past Dudley. Piers still hadn't reappeared.

"You might want to make sure Piers hasn't offed himself," he said, returning Charizard to his Pokéball and turning his back. "I'm leaving."

He'd taken only a few steps before Dudley spoke up again.

"You wouldn't be so confident if you didn't have those creatures with you," Dudley challenged. Harry paused to contemplate that. True, with Charizard he felt confident. He felt safe, even in the most dangerous of times. He turned back to Dudley.

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't have my Pokémon," he said simply. And he left, Dudley letting him go without a fight.

* * *

Harry made it back to Number 4 in little time after that, not wanting to hang around after his altercation with Dudley and Piers. He slipped into the house and hurried upstairs, not wanting to face his relatives, and was soon sequestered safely in his room.

Dudley arrived not too long after and, though there was a fuss downstairs when he did, no one came upstairs to demand answers from Harry. Dudley must have been keeping his mouth shut about the incident between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk.

"Boy!" Uncle Vernon's shout up the stairs wasn't unexpected and, with a quick glance to his watch, Harry knew he was being called for dinner. He sighed, closing his Physiology textbook and placing it on his bedside table before leaving and walking downstairs.

"We're having take out," Vernon said as Harry arrived, pointing him towards the table where Aunt Petunia was unpacking the bags. Dudley was sitting there too, looking rather wet. Perhaps he fell into the water too. He avoided Harry's eyes.

Harry quickly picked out the tub set out from the rest, only rice sitting inside. Still, it was better than when he'd have to give up half his tub to Dudley because he complained too much so he quietly accepted it and walked to the kitchen to grab a fork. As he moved to leave and walk out into the hallway Uncle Vernon spoke up.

"Where do you think you're going?" he said, causing Harry to pause. Every meal Harry would take his food up to his room so it was worrying that Uncle Vernon was pulling him short. Maybe Dudley had blabbed after all.

"Petunia, Dudders and I are going out tonight," Vernon said, causing Harry to let a tiny sigh of relief. "There's a formal reception for a big donor from America and we've been asked to go represent the company. Now, don't think for a moment that that means you can do whatever you like or let those… creatures, of yours run loose through the house."

"Of course," Harry muttered blandly. He'd received this speech or similar every time the Dursleys had left him alone in the house. The fact that he hadn't blown the place up yet didn't seem to convince them that he wouldn't do it next time.

"I warn you, I'll know," Vernon said but Harry wasn't even listening. He gave his word nothing would happen while they were gone, his voice dull and uncaring, and then took the first opportunity he had to leave the room and head upstairs.

About an hour later the sounds of the Dursleys filling up the car drifted up to Harry's window. Soon they were followed by the sound of the engine and the crunch of gravel as Uncle Vernon pulled out of the driveway and set off up the road.


	2. Intruders At Privet Drive

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Being alone was a lot more eerie than Harry was used to. He supposed it was simply a sign of the times and the danger he knew was lurking out there but he felt, as he took his empty tub downstairs and dropped his fork in the dishwasher, that he was being watched. A quick glance out the window showed nothing but darkness outside and he shook himself, letting a hand drop to his belt to rest on Charizard's Pokéball. The fire type was too big now to be let out indoors but being able to have Charizard with him at all times was incredibly comforting.

A knock sounded on the front door. Harry froze. Seconds ticked by, the clock in the living room loudly counting them as everything else lay still, before the person at the door knocked again.

This was stupid, Harry thought, allowing his body to relax slightly from its rigid pose. He was in Privet Drive, nothing unusual ever happened around here. It was probably just one of the neighbours, poking their noses into other people's business as they were always want to do. Or maybe it was a delivery person, although why they were arriving so late was a mystery.

The person at the door knocked a third time and Harry went back on high alert as he heard mutterings on the other side, more than one voice talking, before the handle started to rattle. Harry realised just in time what was happening, throwing himself into the kitchen and out of sight just as the mystery intruder succeeded in breaking the lock and the door fell open.

The person, or rather the group of people as Harry could tell from the multiple footsteps, walked over the Dursley threshold, muttering quietly to one another, so quietly that Harry could not make out a word of what they were saying.

A loud thump sounded, the rattle of keys indicating that someone had knocked into the hall table.

"Sorry," a female voice muttered. It sounded young, though certainly older than Harry himself. The reply to her was gruff, and incomprehensible, and Harry slid down to hide in the shade of the kitchen cabinets, listening.

He could hear the sound of movement around him. There was a person in the living room, their feet muffled by the carpet, and the sound of footsteps up the stairs was clear due to the creaky steps at the bottom. Harry hoped that Pikachu and Talonflame knew to find a good place to hide but wondered whether it would matter. From the way the group were splitting up it seemed clear they were looking for something, and the methodical method suggested something far more sinister than a simple burglary.

A soft thump sounded not far to Harry's left and he realised one of the intruders was closing in on his position. They'd clearly walked straight down the corridor, walking to the door that led to the combined kitchen/dining room area, and if they were to step inside there would be no place Harry could hide.

And there was no reason for them to stop. Steeling his nerves and drawing up all the courage he had Harry clutched onto Charizard's Pokéball, took a deep breath, and threw himself forward.

"Professor Moody?"

Harry had all but thrown Charizard's Pokéball, his finger hovering over the button, but he'd been brought short by the appearance of the last person he'd expected to see.

"Potter," Moody said, not looking at all surprised that Harry had jumped out at him like that, or worried that Harry was inches away from unleashing a Charizard on him at close quarters. "About time you came out."

Harry's attention was diverted as a bang sounded from the side and a woman toppled through the partition doors between the living and dining rooms.

"Ah, got him then, Mad-Eye." The woman, who had caught herself on the back of one of the dining room chairs to prevent her from falling, was a sight to behold. Whilst mostly normal in appearance, if perhaps slightly on the short side, the whole look was thrown into chaos by her spiked up hair. It was bright pink.

"No thanks to you," Moody growled. "What happened to stealth?" The woman just made a face.

The sound of conversation had drawn the attention of those who had gone upstairs, footsteps heard coming back down before the owners came into view. One of whom Harry knew very well.

"Professor Lupin," Harry said, with a lot more enthusiasm than he had for Moody. Remus Lupin, standing with Talonflame and Pikachu perched on his shoulders, smiled back.

"I think Remus will do, since I am no longer your professor," he suggested, reaching up absently to stroke Pikachu under the chin. The electric type closed his eyes peacefully.

Another man had come downstairs with Remus, a tall, dark skinned, bald headed man who, even standing on the bottom step in the Dursley's hallway, looked quite impressive.

"This is Kingsley Shacklebolt," Remus introduced, recognising the direction Harry's eyes had travelled in. "Kingsley, I'm sure you'll recognise Harry."

"It is a pleasure to meet you," the man said, surprising Harry with a soft, gentle voice. It sounded almost musical.

"You too," Harry said, though not entirely truthfully. The truth was that he was confused. "What are you all doing here?"

"I thought that would be obvious, Harry," Remus said, smiling in amusement.

"We're getting you out of here," Moody told him. "Getting you to a safe house where you won't be so unprotected. We have some measures around here but I'll be a damn lot more comfortable with you at headquarters."

"Headquarters?" Harry asked.

"Never mind that," Moody growled. "Just get your trunk and we'll get going."

"We'll explain on the way," Remus promised. The presence of his former battling professor and one of his father's best friends was awfully comforting to Harry in this situation. Even though he knew Moody from last year he still didn't feel completely comfortable in his presence.

"You are packed, aren't you?" Moody asked. Harry shook his head. "Tonks! Help Potter pack." The woman, who Harry assumed must be the aforementioned Tonks, stepped forward.

"Righto Mad-Eye," she said, and she grabbed a hold of Harry's arm and dragged him past Remus and Kingsley and up the stairs. Pikachu, opening his eyes as Remus suddenly stopped petting him, jumped down from his shoulder and hurried after them.

"By the way, I'm an Auror," she explained. "Like Kings. Mad-Eye is really bad for stuff like that, forgetting to introduce people."

"I see that," Harry noted. "So you're Tonks? Tonks what?"

"Just Tonks," Tonks said firmly before she pushed the door to Harry's room fully open. "Just the one name." Harry did not question it, though the way she had answered set off his suspicions. He also had a bizarre feeling that he'd met this woman before. But surely he would have remembered.

"Right, this your trunk?" she asked. Obviously it was. "Guess we've got a lot to do. Help out, Ditto." Tonks opened a Pokéball, surprising Harry as she revealed a Pokémon Harry had only seen once before. "Ditto, Transform into Pikachu."

Fortunately for Pikachu this wasn't the first time he'd been confronted with a Ditto taking his form, but he was still intensely curious as an exact replica appeared on the floor beside him.

"You don't seem very surprised," Tonks noted, looking at him curiously. "I'd have thought you'd get all freaky over Ditto. I was looking forward to it." Harry grinned. He found he quite liked this woman.

"Professor Lupin, I mean Remus, showed us a Ditto in his first ever lesson," he explained. "He transformed into Pikachu then too. But I've never seen another one since then."

"Yeah, they're rare alright," Tonks agreed. "I got my Ditto from Ollivander, of course. Been with me ever since, he has. I still remember in third year when we had to catch a Pokémon to study - do they still do that?" Harry nodded. "Well, I didn't really want another Pokémon so I had Ditto transform into my dorm mate's Cranidos."

"Did it work?" Harry asked, picking his way over to his bedside table to start collecting some of his personal belongings.

"Oh yeah," Tonks said. "Fooled them all. Of course, McGonagall figured it out eventually, and I'm sure Dumbledore knew all along, but still, passed the exams. Worked out alright if you ask me."

Harry amused himself listening to Tonks's stories from her schooldays as the two of them pottered around his room, collecting his belongings and throwing them into the trunk, with the help of the two Pikachu. Eventually, however, as some of the last of Harry's possessions were placed inside, Tonks went quiet.

"You don't recognise me, do you?" Harry hesitated.

"Did we meet?" he asked. "Because something about you seems familiar but I'm sure I would remember you." Tonks grinned. Harry imagined she must get that a lot.

"We met last year," she told him. "Although met might be stretching things a bit. I was part of the task force that was sent to Hogwarts when Sirius Black was captured." Harry frowned. He had avoided the Aurors that night, very deliberately too. How could they have met? Then his eyes widened. Tonks laughed.

"Caught on," she said good-naturedly. "Yeah. I was the one who caught you and your, er, lady friend on the tower."

"So that's why you were so familiar," Harry gasped. Thinking back he'd never got a good look at the Auror that had found him and Hermione just after rescuing Sirius. But he did remember her voice.

"I mean, sorry to interrupt your date, and all," Tonks said, apologetic. "You looked so cute together." Harry went red.

"That's Hermione, she's just a friend," he said hurriedly. "It wasn't what it looked like." His face was positively burning in embarrassment.

Tonks just laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not telling," she said, winking at him before turning to the trunk. "Well, that's everything. Let's get downstairs then before Moody does his nut." She slammed the trunk closed with a loud thud and, with surprising strength, started to pull it out the door.

Moody, Remus and Kingsley were all still downstairs, waiting for them while conversing in low tones.

"Blimey, this thing's heavy," Tonks complained loudly, prompting Remus to quickly hop up the stairs and give her a hand. Harry had to wonder if Tonks had done that specifically to trick someone into helping her.

"You know, it's lucky your relatives aren't in tonight, Harry," Tonks continued, stopping as she reached the bottom of the stairs and plonking the trunk down. "This would have been a hell of an awkward night, what with you know who, over there." She gestured her head significantly towards Moody who, scarred and equipped with glass eye and false leg, with the Murkrow 'Murk' on his shoulder, would certainly have been enough to cow the Dursleys into submission.

Mad-Eye snorted. "Luck?" he question. "You think luck had anything to do with it? Course not, it was me who got the Dursleys that corporate event invite. Didn't want them hanging around all over the place."

"Don't you think you've gone perhaps a bit far, Alastor," Remus said politely. "This was a very simple assignment." But Moody wasn't having any of it.

"Simple assignments go wrong just as easily as tough ones," Moody lectured. "Letting your guard down leads to mistakes and mistakes lead to death. My methods won't look so crazy from the other side of the veil, Lupin."

Remus did not argue back, perhaps recognising that he was not going to sway his older companion to his viewpoint, and instead turned to Harry.

"Well then," he said. "Shall we get going?"

They left the house with little fanfare, Moody leaving behind a roughly scribbled note on the kitchen counter, and walked across to the pavement. There they came across a vehicle that Harry recognised very well, and the man driving it too.

"Evening, Harry," Mr Weasley said cheerfully, waving across from the driver's seat of his weathered minivan. Mr Weasley was a friendly man, more friendly than any Harry had ever met in his opinion, and he just so happened to be the father of some of Harry's best friends at Hogwarts.

"Hi there, Mr Weasley," Harry greeted back. "How are you?"

"Superb, Harry," Mr Weasley replied vibrantly. "Although I must admit it is getting a bit hot in here. We don't have particularly good air conditioning I'm afraid and with the engine off I'd much rather be outside than in. Still, Moody needed someone to keep a lookout."

"Paranoid nutcase," Tonks muttered, though it didn't seem she cared that much that Moody could still hear her.

Moody, for his part, ignored her completely, instead directing them to the van.

"Get in, get in," he growled. "Stop wasting time. I won't be comfortable until we've reached headquarters."

"And maybe not even then," Remus suggested lightly, causing Harry to grin.

"Quit your yapping," Moody snapped, giving Harry a rough shove towards the door where he climbed in at the back, settling down in the first seat he came across and waiting as Remus filed in after him with the trunk, Kingsley taking the seat beside Mr Weasley.

"Hold up there," Moody grunted, grasping hold of Tonks's shoulder as she made to follow Remus into the van. "Nymphadora, you're with me."

"What?" Tonks looked outraged. "In that scrapheap you call a car?" Moody just nodded.

"We need to split up evenly," he told her. "If we're attacked we want as many people possible in both groups to boost our chance of survival." Tonks scowled.

"Fine," she muttered grouchily, stepping down from the back of the van. She took a step towards Moody, coming face to face with him, and glared. "And don't call me Nymphadora."

Harry watched as Tonks marched off, stopping at a car two houses down from the Dursleys, and clambering inside. Harry could see why she didn't want to travel in it. A Volkswagen of some kind, the car looked like it had been put through a blender. It was covered in bumps and scratches such that it was impossible to tell what colour the car had originally been, even without the dried mud coating the bottom edges.

Harry's inspection was cut short as Remus leaned past him, pulling the door shut firmly, giving him a soft smile.

"That car has been with Mad-Eye for about as long as his glass eye," Remus explained, returning to his seat. The aforementioned Volkswagen had lit up its headlights and was pulling away from the curb, Mr Weasley starting his engine to follow. "It's been through many wars, not least with Mad-Eye's rather aggressive driving style."

"No wonder Tonks doesn't want to travel in it," Harry muttered. Remus laughed.

"Quite," he agreed. "But she has plenty of experience. You see, Mad-Eye is Tonks's mentor in the auror department. They frequently go on missions together. I think you'll find that a lot of their back and forth isn't quite as harsh as it first seems."

"Like Nymphadora?" Harry asked. "What's that?" Not only did Remus laugh this time, noticeable chuckling drifted back from the front seats.

"That is Tonks's given name," Remus explained with a smile. "Given by her mother, Andromeda. You can perhaps understand why Tonks prefers to be known by her surname only."

"Yeah," Harry muttered. What sort of a name was Nymphadora? He supposed it wasn't exactly worse than Andromeda though.

The minivan fell quiet after that as Mr Weasley followed Moody's beaten up Volkswagen onwards. It was very late and Harry already had had a pretty dramatic day, not to mention his companions had gone through this journey once already. Mad-Eye Moody wasn't making things any easier.

"Oh, for goodness sake, Mad-Eye," Mr Weasley complained tiredly from behind the wheel as the indicator on the Volkswagen ahead started to flash. "If you don't stop this nonsense we'll never get there."

"He's just trying to make sure we aren't being followed," Kingsley said smoothly, though Harry sensed that he too was getting annoyed.

Mr Weasley sighed. "I know that, I know, but there isn't anybody else around. If there really was somebody following us we'd have spotted them by now."

He had a point. The roads they were taking were of the country variety, apart from the occasional tractor or other late night traveller they had them completely to themselves. Also noticeable was how often they seemed to change directions. On more than one occasion Harry felt as though they'd already driven down this road before.

"If Mad-Eye were to just be a little less paranoid we'd be at Headquarters already," Mr Weasley complained.

That sparked something in Harry's mind.

"What is headquarters?" he asked, looking around at the three men travelling with him. "You promised you'd explain on the way there." Remus smiled.

"Technically Mad-Eye has forbidden us from saying anything until we get there," he said. "But what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"It's not like anyone else is going to hear," Mr Weasley complained. "What does he think they've done, bug the van?"

"Yes," Kingsley answered simply but he did not object. He too seemed to think that this was where Moody's paranoia had gone too far.

"So what is Headquarters?" Harry asked again.

"Well," Remus said. "Exactly as it sounds. Headquarters to the Legion of Ho-oh."

"The Legion of Ho-oh?" Harry repeated. "You mentioned that before."

"It was the resistance organised by Dumbledore against Lord Voldemort," Remus acknowledged.

"So it's re-formed?" Harry asked excitedly.

"To an extent," Remus agreed. "It is a rather unfortunate truth that not many of those that fought last time are still alive today. I was only young when I joined the Legion last time, only Mad-Eye is really a proper veteran. And of course Dumbledore. But a lot of our work so far has been recruiting new members that we can trust."

"Molly and I agreed immediately," Mr Weasley said from the front. "Molly's brothers were in the Legion last time, murdered, I'm afraid."

"Gideon and Fabian were good people," Remus acknowledged. "But it is not only those with connections before that we've been recruiting. Kingsley was still in auror training last time and Tonks had only just started at Hogwarts when Voldemort was last defeated."

"And where is Headquarters?" Harry asked.

"London," Mr Weasley told him. "Ah, at last," he continued as Moody signalled to turn onto the motorway. "Looks like we're finally going to get there."

Mr Weasley's optimism was only half warranted. Quickly the two vehicles found themselves in London but once there they were sent on a roundabout chase through the mostly empty streets for nearly an hour longer, frustrating Mr Weasley immensely.

Finally they came to a step and Mr Weasley let out a breath of relief.

"Here we are, Harry," he said, though he didn't turn off the engine. "Mad-Eye will want us to park away from the house, just in case. We'll meet up with you inside."

Harry pulled open the door and stepped out, helping Remus carry his trunk behind him, before looking at his surroundings. A small park sat to his back, reasonably well kept but quite plain, while Mr Weasley's minivan drove off to reveal a row of regular victorian townhouses ahead.

"Wotcher," Tonks greeted, having escaped the confines of Moody's battered and beaten Volkswagen. "Lets not go standing out here all night. I could use a nice cup of tea."

"Agreed," Remus said and they crossed the road. Following behind them Harry watched as they walked up to the house immediately opposite where they were standing.

It was by far the worst kept of all the houses in the row. Weeds were growing out from cracks in the wall, the front steps were chipped and uneven, and the windows at the front were blacked out. It didn't look like anyone had lived there for years.

Remus rung the doorbell. He waited a second and then rung again. He waited another second and then knocked, once, twice, and then once again. Immediately the door opened.

"Remus," Mrs Weasley greeted, looking mightily relieved. "You're back. Come in. Come in, quickly now." She ushered them into a dimly lit corridor, Remus, Tonks and Kingsley walking in with the ease of familiarity, Harry following behind them.

"Oh Harry," Mrs Weasley gasped, throwing her arms around him tightly as he stepped through. The door swung closed behind him, curtesy of Kingsley, before he walked down the hallway.

A loud clatter drew their attention.

"Oh, Tonks," Mrs Weasley sighed, releasing Harry and turning to the haphazard auror. Tonks was lying on the floor, having tripped over an umbrella stand.

"Sorry Molly," Tonks apologised, pulling herself up and brushing herself off. Dust flew from her clothes and Harry had to fight back a sneeze.

"Every time," Mrs Weasley told her with a stern look.

"I know, but I always forget," Tonks said guiltily.

"It's understandable," Remus said, appearing at Harry's shoulder. "It is quite dark in here. And if I do say so Ms Tonks has never been known for her stealth." Tonks looked affronted but Harry couldn't help but smile, remembering how she'd fallen through the doors at the Dursleys. Tonks, too, grinned after a moment. It seemed she didn't really take anything too seriously.

"Arthur and Mad-Eye are just parking the vehicles," Remus told Mrs Weasley, easing some of her obvious worry.

"Good, good," Mrs Weasley said, frazzled. "Well the meeting's already underway anyway so they aren't going to be much later than you are."

"Mad-Eye," Tonks said, rolling her eyes.

"We should join them," Remus said. Kingsley had already disappeared, presumably to where this meeting was taking place. Remus moved from behind Harry and walked forward with Tonks but as Harry went to follow Mrs Weasley stopped him short.

"Sorry dear, Legion members only," she told him. "Why don't you head upstairs. Your room is first on the right."

Disappointed, and watching as Remus and Tonks disappeared down a set of stairs at the end of the hallway, Harry trudged up the dark staircase, the floorboards creaking under his weight as he went. His trunk clunked against each step until he'd reached the landing and turned to the right.

Approaching the door he could hear whispers from inside and his heart sped. He reached out a hand and pushed the door open.

"Harry!"

Ron and Hermione jumped to their feet at his appearance, Hermione beating Ron to rush forward and engulf him in a hug.

"Easy there, Hermione, no need to murder him," Ron joked, Hermione finally letting go. He clapped Harry on the shoulder, grinning. "Good to see you mate."

"You too," Harry admitted. He had not heard a word from either Ron or Hermione over the summer and it had been torturous. "It's been ages since we last spoke. I kept trying to phone but there was no answer."

"Well we've been here pretty much all summer," Hermione admitted. "Headquarters doesn't have a phone, it's supposed to be uninhabited. We really wish we could have got in contact but Dumbledore warned that it could give away our location."

"I get it," Harry assured her. In truth it did annoy him slightly to know they'd been here all along while he'd been stuck at the Dursleys with no news but he was just too tired to care. He rubbed at his eyes wearily.

"Tired?" Ron asked.

"It is late, isn't it," Hermione agreed. "We've been staying up waiting for you to arrive. I didn't expect it to take so long."

"Blame it on Moody," Harry told her. "He kept backtracking to try and throw off anyone following." Ron snorted.

"Well I'm just glad you got here alright," Hermione told him. "And now that we're all here we can all get ready for Hogwarts. There's only a couple of weeks left you know."

"We haven't got the letters yet," said Ron. "But once we do we'll be able to go to Diagon Alley and get our supplies."

Harry nodded, fighting back a yawn. He was just so tired.

"I'll let you get some rest," Hermione told him, recognising his exhaustion. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay." She left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Your bed's here," Ron pointed out, gesturing to the bed closest to the window. No light was coming through it, and there wouldn't be any even during the day. It was all blocked up. "We're sharing this room. Hermione's in the floor above."

"I'm going to wait up for Sirius," Harry told Ron, sitting down on his bed heavily and dropping the handle of his trunk. He was beyond exhausted but he really didn't want to fall asleep without seeing his godfather.

Ron looked unsure.

"Okay," he said. "But I warn you, those Legion meetings can go on for hours."

"I'll stay up," Harry assured him.

But he was wrong. As minutes passed his eyes started to droop, his brain going fuzzy, and before long, long before the meeting downstairs came to a close, Harry had fallen fast asleep.


	3. Number 12, Grimmauld Place

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

"Morning Harry."

Harry jerked awake as someone bustled into the room. It was lighter now, despite the blocked off windows some natural light was peaking through the cracks. Even so Mrs Weasley lit a couple of candles as she went, bustling around as Harry blinked away the sleep in his eyes.

"What time is it?" he muttered, slightly disorientated. Last thing he remembered was planning to stay up for Sirius.

"Time for breakfast," Mrs Weasley told him firmly. "And then we've got some work to do. Up, Ronald." Ron moaned into his pillow.

Harry pulled himself out of bed as Mrs Weasley left, closing the door behind her. He was still dressed in last night's clothes so he didn't need to worry about that, although he would have to change at some point as his current clothes were wrinkled and most likely smelled.

"Come on, Ron," Harry said, shaking the boy's shoulder as he passed.

"Jus' a minute," Ron grumbled, pulling himself into a sitting position blearily. Ron was not a morning person, as Harry had learned from four years of staying with him at Hogwarts, but if there was one thing that would get him up it was the promise of food.

Harry left the room shortly thereafter, leaving Ron to piece together an outfit for the day, and went off in search of a bathroom. He found it after just one room searched, a bathroom available off the first floor landing, and washed his face, reminding himself to bring his toothbrush in next time he was there.

On leaving he wondered which way to head, not knowing the layout of the house and where the kitchen would be, but he was brought short by the sound of voices.

The third room off the first floor landing was the drawing room and the first thing Harry noticed was the large windows across the wall. Like with Harry and Ron's room they were all boarded up, light coming instead from the hearth where a fire crackled merrily.

"Harry." Hermione was the first to spot him, putting down the book she was holding and smiling at him. The person she was in conversation with, Remus, likewise turned to greet him.

"Good morning, Harry," he said politely. "Have a good rest?"

"Eh, yeah," Harry said, rubbing awkwardly at the back of his head. Now that he thought about it he hadn't slept that well all summer. He must have been really tired. "I was just looking for the kitchen."

"It's downstairs," Remus told him. "Although I have heard from Molly that breakfast isn't quite ready. Perhaps you would like to join us and we can fill you in some."

"Okay," Harry agreed, walking into the room. It was very dark, even with the fire, and the corners remained in deep shadow. Simply by walking in his eyes were able to take in more of the room and with that he spotted the Pokémon at Hermione's feet. "Crookshanks?"

Hermione smiled, looking down at the Pokémon. "Yes, it's good to see him again, isn't it," Hermione told him. Harry wasn't quite so sure. Though proving that he was actually on their side all along the Purugly hadn't exactly been a ray of sunshine when he'd been Hermione's Pokémon.

Still, he looked rather content, lying at Hermione's feet, and Harry supposed that no longer having to be the sole carer for a Pokémon could help when it comes to a relationship with a Pokémon like Crookshanks.

"He's much happier these days now that he has a house to stay in," Remus said. "I don't think he appreciated the many caves Sirius was camped out in whilst on the run."

"I don't blame him," Ron muttered, walking into the room at that moment. "I don't know how Sirius managed." Likely because before that he'd been resident of Azkaban, Harry thought, but he wisely chose not to say so. Instead he brought up another issue he was confused about.

"Who's house is this?" he asked, looking around. "It looks a wreck."

"It does, doesn't it," Remus agreed with a small smile. "Molly has been working overtime to make it habitable. But we have to do without a lot here in order not to raise suspicion."

"It's Sirius's house, Harry," Hermione told him. "He's letting Dumbledore use it as Headquarters for the Legion."

"This belongs to Sirius?" Harry gasped. When Sirius had suggested Harry live with him over a year ago he hadn't expected this.

"By law, yes," Remus explained. "What you see here, Harry, is the residence of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black. Number 12, Grimmauld Place. A fitting name, don't you think?" Harry couldn't help but agree.

"Sirius grew up here," Remus continued. "Up until the age of sixteen when he left to live with your grandparents, Harry. And since his parents died many years ago it has become uninhabited. Here, have a look."

Remus stood up from his chair, walking towards the far wall, and Harry followed him.

"The Black Family Tree," Remus pointed out, raising a finger to a particular spot on the wall. "That's where Sirius should be."

"Should be?" Harry asked. The wall was brilliantly painted, even with the general despair the whole house had fallen into, but the section that Remus was pointing to was burned away.

"Yes, well, Sirius didn't exactly toe the family line," Remus said. "He was disowned and, apparently, Walburga Black - that's his mother, you see - she burned his name off. It was a bit of a tradition with those considered to be traitors. See over here, this is where Andromeda Tonks should be. She was burned off for daring to marry a muggle."

"Wait a minute," Harry said, not sure if he'd got this right. "Are you telling me Sirius and Tonks are related." Remus chuckled.

"In short, yes," Remus admitted with a smile. "They haven't really had much to do with each other, to be honest. Sirius was in Azkaban before Tonks was really old enough to remember much about him. Still, yes they are related. Andromeda was Sirius's cousin. His favourite cousin, in his words."

"That's cause the rest of them were batshit crazy," Ron pointed out. "Just look at who else is on there." Harry did.

"Bellatrix Black," he said softly. Why was that name familiar?

"She would later become Bellatrix LeStrange," Remus said, answering Harry's unasked question and pointing to where 'Bellatrix Black' was connected to 'Rudolphus LeStrange'. "One of Voldemort's most loyal and fanatic of followers."

Now Harry remembered. Bellatrix LeStrange was a name he was sure to never forget. It was her, along with Rudolphus and his brother, Rabastan LeStrange, and the late Barty Crouch Jr, who had tortured the Longbottoms. The two aurors had not recovered from what they'd done to them and Neville had been forced to grow up without his parents, as much an orphan as Harry was.

"Look further," Ron muttered and Harry snapped out of it, wondering what could be so significant to Ron of all people.

Narcissa Black. And a line connecting her to none other than Lucius Malfoy.

"Sirius is related to the Malfoys?" Harry gasped. That itself was a bigger shock than Tonks and Bellatrix combined. Remus chuckled.

"A lot of families are related in this way," he told Harry softly. "There are many families in the Pokémon world who believe those without Pokémon are inferior. They tend to wed between each other, all tied together by their believed superiority."

"It's absolutely ridiculous," Hermione said, her voice sounding rather angry. "There's not any difference between people with Pokémon and people without. It doesn't change your strengths and abilities if you have Pokémon."

That wasn't necessarily true, though Harry agreed with Hermione's basic principal. Any muggle could be given a Pokémon and over time they'd become a Pokémon trainer just like all the others. But Harry knew there was a difference. If Harry had never encountered Pokémon he knew he wouldn't be anything like what he was now. With Charizard by his side, and Pikachu and Talonflame, he was so much stronger, and not just on the battlefield.

"Bi!"

Harry blinked. A small, electric type Pokémon, an Elekid if he wasn't mistaken, had just leapt into the room.

"Magby!" A Magby had gone chasing after him, running full pelt towards him. A small jolt of electricity hit the Magby, causing Magby to get knocked back and causing Harry to take a step back in concern.

What was telling was the lack of reaction from everyone else.

"Take that, you fiery fiend!" George Weasley had leapt into the room dramatically, standing behind the Elekid.

"Not again," Hermione moaned but it didn't stop.

"An electrifying enemy, no doubt." Fred had appeared also, standing behind Magby as the fire type climbed back to his feet, unharmed. "For now we must flee. Follow me, my combustable comrade!"

Fred leapt from the room, Magby following, and George and Elekid followed after them, crashing down the stairs.

"What was that?" Harry asked, shocked.

"Fred and George," Ron answered simply.

"They've been like this all summer," Hermione moaned. "There's nothing mean spirited about it but it is just so annoying. Sometimes all we want is a little peace."

"And you see where your trouble is, Hermione," Remus said with a small smile. "Troublemakers and pranksters see it as their sole mission to disrupt peace."

"You would know," Hermione challenged. Remus chuckled.

"Hey guys, have you seen Fred and George." Ginny Weasley, youngest and indeed prettiest of the Weasley siblings, owing to the fact she was the only girl, appeared in the doorway.

She had grown over the summer, Harry noticed, and looked happy and healthy. The youngest Weasley child was someone Harry still didn't know as well as he thought he should, owing mostly to the fact she'd been too embarrassed to talk in front of him for most of the time they'd known each other. However, almost exactly a year ago, when Fred and George's teasing went a little too far, Ginny had thrown caution to the wind and showed Harry her true self. Someone Harry was glad to call a friend.

"You just missed them," Ron told her. Ginny seemed to understand what he was hinting at, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Those two are just children, aren't they," she said. "I can't believe they are legally adults. Hi Harry." She spotted him eventually.

"Hey Ginny," Harry responded cheerfully. A loud bang sounded from downstairs.

"I'm going to see what's going on," Ginny told them. "See you later."

"We should probably be heading down too," Remus suggested as Ginny disappeared from sight. "I can't imagine Molly will be far from finishing breakfast." That seemed like a good idea.

As the quartet made their way downstairs, a lazy Crookshanks following behind them, Harry questioned Ron about the twins' new Pokémon.

"They caught them at the end of last year," Ron told Harry. "They kept quiet about it though… you know, after what happened. Still for the last month or so they've been unbearable, doing mock battles and arguing which one is better. I mean, it's not like either of them are that powerful."

The kitchen was situated at the end of the long hallway and down a short flight of wooden steps, and by the time they reached it it was already inhabited by a fair smattering of Weasleys. Fred and George, chastised, were sitting abnormally quietly at the table, with Ginny smirking across at them, while Mrs Weasley was busying herself with something over the stove.

"Breakfast is still a while yet, I'm afraid," she told them, sounding genuinely disappointed.

"Perfect," Ron said, something incredibly out of character for him, but it soon became clear what was going on when Ron walked over to the kitchen counter and picked up a very familiar looking board, placing it in the middle of the table.

"Finally challenging him, then," Harry said quietly to Hermione as Ron and Remus set up their pieces on the PFG board between. Hermione sighed.

"Every morning," she said wearily. "He hasn't won yet. I keep telling him he's probably just not got the right pieces but he's adamant that there must be a way to win."

Harry assumed that there probably was some way to beat Remus, who had long since proven himself to be a brilliant PFG player, but Harry wasn't that experienced with the game and if Ron couldn't figure it out then certainly he wouldn't be able.

And, predictably, Ron crashed to defeat.

"How?" he said, holding his head in his hands as he stared down at the board, Remus's Mightyena piece sitting smugly on Ron's home space. "How?"

"Practice," Remus said simply. "And a firm understanding of my own strengths and weaknesses."

"Perhaps too firm, eh Moony," a new voice made itself known from the doorway and everyone turned to look.

"Sirius!" Harry cried. Sirius, dark hair hanging with graceful ease around his face, grinned.

"Now where's my favourite godson," he said and laughed as Harry rounded the table and threw himself into his arms.

He had missed Sirius, desperately, perhaps even more than he'd missed Ron and Hermione. The older man was something Harry had never experienced before and cherished now. He was a connection to his parents, one of their best friends, and the closest thing to family Harry had ever had.

"Easy cub, I'm not going anywhere," Sirius teased, ruffling Harry's hair as he pulled back slightly.

"I tried to wait up to see you last night," Harry admitted guiltily. "But I fell asleep."

"I saw," Sirius told him. "You'd had a big day." He wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders and grinned and Harry suddenly felt warmth spread through him.

"Now then," Sirius said, approaching the table with Harry still under his arm. "What's going on around here?"

"Ron just lost to Remus," Harry told him, nodding towards the PFG board. "Again."

"He's unbeatable," Ron complained, glaring over at Remus. "I just can't win." Sirius snorted.

"Nonsense," he said. "Moony's not that good. You just have to know how to beat him." Ron looked frazzled.

"How?" Sirius grinned.

"Let me show you," he said and he walked round the table and took Ron's seat, picking up Ron's pieces and setting them up for a game. "Ready Remus?"

"As always," Remus confirmed calmly, moving his own pieces back too. Yet Harry sensed that he was a lot more wary about playing Sirius than he was about playing Ron. "Lets see who goes first."

It was Remus to start and that's what he did, sending out his Murkrow piece.

What followed next was a match of epic proportions. Remus, as Harry had witnessed in the past, was brilliant at forming defences, but he was having a really tough time of it and that was because Sirius was attacking, and attacking erratically. He threw Ron's pieces forward with almost complete disregard for strategy, engaging in battle on almost every turn and almost seeming to play with only one piece at a time. The whole strategy just looked like it shouldn't work, yet Remus was being pushed further than Ron had ever managed.

"Getting tired, Moony?" Sirius grinned across the table.

"Fresh as a daisy, Padfoot," Remus replied, making his move after only a few seconds pondering. In fact every move was made with almost no time for thought, the game whizzing by in a flash. Ron, eyes glued to the board, could only watch on, mouth hanging open.

"Ooh, lucky there, Moony," Sirius said as Ron's Skarmory piece failed to fly over Remus's Reuniclus piece.

"The odds were in my favour," Remus reminded, but he did shift his Aggron piece closer to where Skarmory and Reuniclus were set up. Clearly it had been too close a call.

Everyone was watching the game with rapt attention, the excitement hyping higher and higher as the clocks ticked down into the final minute for both players.

"Breakfast is ready," Mrs Weasley announced, turning away from her now completed meal. But no one responded. With a humph she walked over to where the group were leaning in around the board and placed her pot right in the middle of the table… and the board.

"Mum!" Fred and George complained as pieces went flying. Harry too was shocked. The game had been so close, who knew who would have won.

Neither Sirius nor Remus looked too concerned about it though.

"What do you say, Padfoot," Remus said benignly. "Shall we call it a draw?"

"You got lucky, Moony," Sirius told him with a grin. "I had you on the ropes."

"Dream on, Padfoot."

Breakfast at the Dursleys was actually one of the better meals of the day, but still it paled in comparison to what Mrs Weasley could whip up. Even with something as simple as soup Mrs Weasley was able to make it to an astonishingly high quality. Harry would argue only Hogwarts did it better.

All but one person gratefully dug into their meal, the one being the one person you'd least expect.

Ron ignored his food, even as Mrs Weasley stuck a bowl under his nose, and just stared at Sirius, mouth hanging open.

"How?" he asked, drawing everyone's attention and still ignoring his food. "How did you do that?" Sirius raised an eyebrow, a spoon half lifted to his lips. The corner of his mouth twitched.

"It's not that difficult, once you know how," he said easily. This just seemed to push Ron further over the edge.

"But how?" he asked again. Sirius glanced at him before dropping his spoon back to the bowl.

"You want to take this one, Moony?" Remus smiled slightly, a patient look on his face that Harry remembered well from when he'd taught them.

"Perhaps you would like to tell us what you think," he suggested calmly. "Why do you think Sirius was able to cause me problems?" Ron frowned.

"He just kept attacking," he said, the comment sounding like a complaint. "There's no way that should have worked. You should have beaten him loads of times in that match."

"And yet I didn't," Remus said calmly. "You see, Sirius took advantage of one glaring hole in my game. You alluded to it there." Ron frowned. He didn't seem to agree.

"The reason Sirius could get away with attacking so recklessly is due to my inability to punish him for it," Remus said. "Most players would see an opportunity to strike and end the game quickly and make an aggressive move to win. My game is predicated on stability. I move gradually from my end of the board to the other. By attacking continuously Sirius was able to halt any advance I made and was able to 'play the odds' as it were, knowing I could not punish him unless luck truly did not favour him."

"Attacking like that stops Remus from setting up," Sirius explained. "Once he's got his pieces in order he'll always be able to cover for any holes in his defence given enough time. But by attacking at every opportunity you allow for the opportunity for luck to favour you in multiple consecutive battles, which can be all you need to win." Ron nodded slowly.

"I think I get it," he said thoughtfully. "Although I could never play like that."

"Neither can I," Remus admitted. "I am much too cautious in nature. Only if you are completely fine with losing can you stomach using such tactics. More often than not they will end in defeat."

"Which is why I only bring them up against Moony here," Sirius said with a grin. "He gets special treatment."

Breakfast passed in cordial fashion before eventually Sirius and Remus were forced to leave. Where they were going and what they were doing they did not say and none of the usual residents of Number 12 Grimmauld Place questioned it so Harry assumed that this must be the normal course of a day at Headquarters.

After breakfast the remaining members of the household were put to task, in a way much different than Harry suspected Remus and Sirius were doing.

As it happened the Black family home had been left derelict for at least a decade before Sirius had returned and a large scale cleaning operation had been put into action already during the summer, leading to the kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms being habitable. Certain other rooms did not meet this description.

"Mould can be a devil if you're not careful," Mrs Weasley lectured them as they went to work in the drawing room, each child clad with a tea towel over their nose and mouth.

They worked for hours scrubbing at the walls and curtains, a surprising amount of mould present considering Harry had not noticed any when he was in earlier. Admittedly the lack of natural light made it difficult to see much of anything clearly.

After a quick lunch of sandwiches they moved on upstairs two levels where they came across the Black Family Library. This was far worse.

"I don't think anyone ever used this room even when people lived here," Hermione commented, pulling out an incredibly heavy old tomb and blowing away the dust. She coughed loudly as she breathed it in.

Predictably they made little to no progress on the library and soon they all found their way back down to the kitchen for dinner, just in time for Sirius and Remus to reappear. It seemed that whatever it was they were doing wasn't more important to them than Mrs Weasley's cooking.

As they ate, enjoying yet another array of quality dishes, talk turned to school.

"We should be getting our Hogwarts letters soon," Hermione said, looking nervous but excited. "We'll be sitting our A. this year. It's a pity Moody won't be teaching us again."

The A. , or Average Pokémon Examinations as they were formally known, were the exams that Hogwarts students took at the end of their fifth year of schooling, the most important exams other than perhaps the S. taken in seventh year; Specialist Pokémon Assessments.

This wasn't what caught Harry's attention though.

"Moody won't be teaching us?" he asked, surprised. This was brand new information to him.

"He's got too much work to do for the Legion," Ron explained. "Pity though, he was so good." He looked genuinely disappointed. Harry remembered that Ron had taken a particular shine to Moody's classes, most particularly the battle simulations. He'd been by far Moody's best student.

"Yes, it is a real shame," Mrs Weasley admitted sorrowfully. "You did so well in his class too. Mad-Eye was very impressed." Ron blushed deeply at the compliment. Already Fred and George were sniggering from across the table.

"That's not the only big thing that'll be happening this year either," Mrs Weasley continued, drawing attention away from her embarrassed son. "Prefects are chosen from fifth year onwards. Perhaps Ronnie will be able to pick up the family tradition." She shot a harsh look at the twins who didn't look at all bothered. Harry would bet the twins thought the idea of being chosen as a prefect repugnant. After all, they were the biggest troublemakers in the school.

"Who do you think will be prefect?" Ginny asked interestedly, ignoring her mother and twin brothers and turning to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Hermione," Harry and Ron said together, looking at each other in surprise before grinning. Hermione blushed.

"Well, maybe," she admitted. "It's not like there is a lot of choice. But Parvati is smart and Lavender is a people person so she might be chosen." Hermione wasn't convincing anyone, least of all herself, and she eventually tailed off, still slightly pink.

"What about the boys?" Ginny asked. "Do you think you'll be picked Harry?" Harry shrugged.

"Maybe," he said noncommittally. Truth was he didn't really feel like he'd be a good choice. He wasn't particularly smart, nowhere near Hermione's level at least, and for someone who was supposed to be upholding the rules he probably broke just a few too many of them.

He shared this with the room.

"Nonsense," Mrs Weasley said, although Harry wasn't sure if she was denying his rule breaking or his suitability for the position. Sometimes he felt that Mrs Weasley had an overly innocent image of him.

"You sound just like your father," Sirius chuckled. "Though there wasn't exactly much choice with us since we were all troublemakers. In the end Remus got the badge. I think the idea was that he might be able to tame some of our wilder tendencies."

"A job in which I failed miserably," Remus admitted.

"But Harry's a leader," Hermione explained earnestly. "And in a time like this won't that be what everyone needs."

No one had an opportunity to answer as at that moment a loud thump sounded from the stairs as Nymphadora Tonks made her appearance, lying upside down on the bottom few steps.

"Wotcher," she greeted as everyone looked. She didn't seem too surprised to find herself in such an unusual position. In fact, she seemed almost comfortable.

"Oh, Tonks," Mrs Weasley sighed as the younger woman started to pull herself to her feet, ably aided by Remus who helped her up with a small smile.

"Sorry about that," Tonks said, winking down at the youngsters at the table. "Never have been much of a balance person."

"Indeed," the deep voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt sounded from behind her in amusement, the tall dark skinned trainer following more elegantly down the stairs.

Mrs Weasley looked agitated.

"Is it time already?" she asked nervously, looking towards the clock.

"Nah, you've got time," Tonks said carelessly. "Kings and I just wanted to get here early for some of your delicious food."

"We're on a night shift," Kingsley explained calmly for everyone else's benefit. "As soon as the meeting is over we'll be on our way."

This was all Mrs Weasley needed to hear before she hurried both Tonks and Kingsley into seats and soon enough had plates laden with food in front of them. The looks on the two aurors' faces showed just how much they'd been looking forward to this.


	4. The Legion Of Ho-oh

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

As time passed more and more people filed into the kitchen. First was Mr Weasley, having just finished up with work, and then Mad-Eye Moody, clunking in and sitting silently in the corner, glaring at anyone who dared approach him, Murk the Murkrow on his shoulder.

Soon however there were other people that Harry had not been expecting. A small excitable man took a seat next to Remus, happily indulging in some of Mrs Weasley's pudding, and a stern faced dark haired woman also arrived, in contrast declining Mrs Weasley's offer of food.

It was this second woman who prompted a response from Moody.

"You got something, Vance?" he questioned from the corner. The woman nodded stiffly. "Come on, lets hear it then." Vance hesitated.

"I think we're still waiting on some people," Mr Weasley said gently.

"Who?" Moody barked.

"Mundungus Fletcher said he would likely be here," Remus said. "But with Dung I wouldn't take that as a given."

"And I saw Sturgis Podmore in the Ministry," the small man squeaked from next to him. "He should be here."

"I am here, Dedalus," a strong jawed man with thick, thatch-like straw coloured hair appeared on the scene, nodding around the table and taking a seat silently.

"Is that all?" Moody barked. "Well in that case…"

"The children, Mad-Eye," Mrs Weasley said hurriedly. "Wait for the children to leave." That had the opposite effect of what Mrs Weasley was going for.

"We're not going anywhere," Fred and George said immediately, together. Mrs Weasley pursed her lips dangerously.

"Us neither," Ron added, gesturing to himself, Harry and Hermione. Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother's shortsightedness in leaving her out.

"Yes you are," Mrs Weasley said angrily. "This is Legion business, no place for children."

"We're of age," complained Fred and George.

"You're still in school," Mrs Weasley shot back. "You are not adults. And you are not Legion members either."

"Only cause you won't let us be," Fred pointed out in annoyance.

"Yeah, let us join," George chimed in. "Maybe then we could actually help rather than spend all day scraping out mould and dirt from this travesty of a house." He gave Sirius an apologetic glance. "No offence."

"None taken," Sirius grinned.

"Now boys, lets all be reasonable," Mr Weasley said placatingly. "There is no reason why we can't have an open, frank discussion without fighting about this." If only he'd remembered to tell his wife.

"You will go upstairs right now," she demanded loudly. "I will not have any one of you sitting in on this meeting. It is too dangerous."

"What, listening to these old bores," Fred countered. "Yeah, real dangerous."

Mrs Weasley was furious.

"Yes, dangerous," she told him. "You think this is a game, like some sort of club, but this is much more important. People die. Your uncles…" she tailed off, her face stricken.

There was silence around the table.

"Molly," Mr Weasley said softly, his voice easily spreading across the room. "I know what you're thinking but you realise that we cannot hold them back any longer. Fred and George are of age now. It is their decision." Mrs Weasley was shaking.

"But Gideon…," she whispered. "Fabian…"

"They died fighting for what they believed in," Mr Weasley said simply. "I wish it were not the case but if you could ask them I can assure you that they will not have regretted fighting."

Silence descended again. Most of the people in the room sat there awkwardly, witnessing what was obviously a very intimate moment and not sure how to react. From further down the table Fred and George were exchanging guilty looks. They didn't want to see their mum like this.

"You're right, Arthur," Mrs Weasley said softly. She sounded defeated.

A moment passed before Mrs Weasley shook herself and suddenly her old self was back. "Ron, Hermione, Ginny, on you go," she told them strictly, targeting those children who did not have a leg to stand on. "You too Harry, you are not supposed to be here."

"I'm not leaving," Harry said quietly, even as Ron, Hermione and Ginny moved to stand up. The room fell silent once more. "I deserve the right to hear what's going on."

Mrs Weasley looked pained by his remark, and Harry really did feel awful to do this, but there was no way he could allow himself to just walk away. It was months now since Voldemort had returned and he didn't just want to know what he was doing, he needed to know.

A shifting from down the table caught his attention and to Harry's surprise the dark haired woman, Vance, had turned to face him.

"You are underage," she said sharply. "You cannot possibly comprehend the importance of what is at stake here."

Now that pissed him off.

"Do you?" he shot back, his voice a lot sharper than before. "Do you understand what's at stake? Do you know what Voldemort is capable of?" Vance flinched at Harry's use of Voldemort's name and that only reaffirmed Harry's belief he was right. She couldn't even stand to hear the name, how would she ever manage when brought face to face with the man himself?

"Have you met Voldemort?" Harry asked, his eyes never wavering from a now uncomfortable Vance. "I have. I've met him more times than anyone in this room I reckon. Am I wrong? Have _any_ of you met Voldemort?"

There was silence in reply, a silence which told Harry everything. Was this really what they had to fight Voldemort with? A handful of trainers that had never even come face to face with him before? Harry had always known the importance of Dumbledore in keeping Voldemort at bay but he'd never before realised just how much he was doing it on his own.

Moody let out a grunt.

"Kid has a point," he said, rising to his feet and clunking up to the table. "Potter can stay. The rest of you, scram." Ron, Hermione and Ginny did not complain, such was the tension in the room, though Harry did catch Ron's eye as he left. A silent thought passed between them and Ron's shoulders shifted and relaxed slightly as he left. Harry would tell him what happened. He could never keep this from them.

As the three Hogwarts students left Moody fixed his eyes on Harry, giving him an unblinking stare.

"I've given you a chance, Potter," Moody said roughly. "Now you're in there is no going back. The fight against the Dark Lord is not something you can do in your spare time. It is your life. It is your everything. Are you ready to commit?" Harry nodded. He did not even need to think about it. "Then lets get started."

The first to speak was Sturgis Podmore, the thatched haired man, who kept his report short and to the point.

"I passed on guard duty to Elphias before I left," he reported. "Quiet as usual."

Vance spoke next.

"I've been in contact with Amelia Bones," she reported. "She is yet to be convinced by my arguments but at the very least she is willing to hear us out. She holds Dumbledore in high regard so that is a positive."

"It'll be good to have someone that far up the Ministry on our side," Mr Weasley said. "Amelia Bones is head of the Department for Pokémon Law Enforcement," he added for Harry's benefit. "A tough job for a tough woman. At the moment Percy is as close to Fudge as we have intelligence wise so convincing Madam Bones will be a huge boost."

"Fudge still denying he's back, then?" Harry questioned, looking round the table. Varying expressions of annoyance looked back.

"Yes," Sirius growled. "And it's a major thorn in our side. When you escaped from Voldemort last year that should have been a huge blow for him. His comeback was meant to be secret. But with the Ministry flatly refusing to admit his return and continuously telling the public there's no need to be worried Voldemort has been able to remain hidden, working in the shadows."

"What about Mr Crouch?" Harry asked. Mr Crouch knew the truth since it was his son who had been instrumental in returning Voldemort to full power. Yet last time Harry had seen the man he'd refused to admit it.

There was an uncomfortable silence around the room.

"Well, he's not in a particularly good position right now," Mr Weasley said gently.

"He's dead," Moody interrupted gruffly. He wasn't one to mince words.

"Dead," Harry gasped. "Did Voldemort…?" But Remus was shaking his head.

"Suicide, I'm afraid," he said sadly. "We think that there was just too much guilt for him to take, being an indirect cause for Voldemort's return. Barty Crouch devoted his life to fighting him. In the end such a crime was too much for him to live with."

There was silence around the table.

"Well, good riddance I say," Sirius said, trying to lighten the mood. "Bloke threw me in Azkaban without a trial, can't say I'm losing much sleep on him. Meanwhile, back in the real world, we're still left fighting Voldemort."

"I thought I was going to hear lots about what Voldemort was doing over the summer," Harry said. "I thought there'd be attacks big enough for even the muggles to notice."

"Voldemort is reading the situation well," Remus admitted. "By not attacking he's making it that much harder for us to convince people he's back. Most of our efforts so far have gone towards that goal as well as our goal to recruit people to the Legion, so Voldemort's lack of activity, or rather noticeable activity, is very damaging for us."

"In the meantime Voldemort is gathering forces," Sirius said. "He's going round his old Death Eater breeding grounds. Families that believe in Pokémon superiority over muggles almost inevitably flock to his cause, or else risk severe punishment."

"It's not only Death Eaters You-know-who is gathering," Tonks weighed in.

"Right," Remus agreed. "He's also gathering supplies. Pokémon, medicine, money of course. All these things are needed to wage war and Voldemort is using the time he can act without notice to mass up his forces on all fronts."

"That's what I've been doing," Sirius told Harry. "I can't exactly go around trying to convince people Voldemort's back, everyone still thinks I'm a killer. What I've done is gone back to my old job of searching out these warehouses where the Death Eaters are stocking up supplies. I've had no luck so far, but we know they're out there."

"So is that it?" Harry asked. "Is that everything?"

There was an awkward silence around the table. For some reason people seemed unwilling to speak.

"Well," Sirius said hesitantly. "There is one thing, one thing we know that Voldemort is after for sure."

"How?" Harry asked.

"He was after it last time," Sirius said. "And the fact he didn't get it cost him big time. In fact we'd go so far as to say that this is his number one priority, above even recruiting new Death Eaters or breaking his old ones out of Azkaban."

"So what is it?" Harry asked. "This thing that Voldemort wants. Is it a weapon he can use?"

Sirius hesitated. "In a way," he admitted, choosing his words carefully. "But you see, it's much more complicated than that…"

"Sirius." The warning voice caught everyone by surprise and as one they turned to the door.

Albus Dumbledore was standing there, so silent that no-one had even noticed him enter. His expression was stern, his eyes focused, and he looked down on where Sirius sat with a very firm gaze.

"I wasn't going to say it," Sirius told him, though it didn't sound like he was trying to defend himself. Dumbledore inclined his head slightly in approval.

"What?" Harry asked, looking in confusion between Dumbledore and Sirius. Yet Dumbledore ignored his response.

"I cannot say I am surprised to see you here, Harry," he said instead, sweeping down the last few stairs to take a seat at the head of the table. "You are a most persuasive boy, and I would never expect you to be comfortable with staying in ignorance."

"And Misters Fred and George Weasley have joined us as well," Dumbledore remarked, his eyes easily scanning from the twins to Mr and Mrs Weasley before turning back to the twins. "I welcome you to our group." He nodded his head respectfully towards them.

"Headmaster," Vance spoke up crisply, ready to give a report but Dumbledore held up a hand.

"I will happily hear what you have to say Emmeline," he told her. "But first I want to hear from Harry. It is my belief that young Mr Potter has insight which could be of great benefit to the Legion, and there is no time like the present to hear it." He fixed his gaze on Harry.

"Harry, if it is not too much to ask, I would like you to give us your impression of Lord Voldemort." Harry hesitated.

"My impression, sir?" he questioned. Dumbledore nodded.

"You have met the self styled Dark Lord on multiple occasions and indeed more recently than I have myself," Dumbledore told him. "I believe your insight into the mind of Lord Voldemort could be of vital importance to resisting him. If you would, Harry."

Harry took a moment, thinking hard. He hadn't expected to have anything to say at the meeting, he thought he'd be listening instead, but now that Dumbledore gave him the chance he found he yearned to contribute, to do something. And for once his perfect memory of that night in the graveyard worked to his advantage.

"He's crazy," Harry said eventually, a picture of Voldemort clear in his mind. "Insane. He flips moods so quickly and no one is safe from him. Barty Crouch Jr was loyal and brought him back but it only took one mistake for Voldemort to decide to kill him."

"But he's sane too," Harry continued, thinking about the smoothness of Voldemort's speech. "To someone who didn't know who he was he could be charming. He's confident, he knows his own strength. He was even willing to give me back Charizard, he was just that confident he would win."

"Overconfident," Sirius muttered, a slight smile curving his lips.

"It's only once he starts to lose control of a situation that he shows his true colours," Harry continued. "That's when he's at his most dangerous. Or maybe that's when he's least dangerous. Maybe that's when he starts to make mistakes."

"Perhaps," Dumbledore agreed. "Voldemort's mind is brilliant, perhaps the key to beating him is to foster that instability. Continue, Harry. What else do you have to say?"

"He doesn't battle the same way everyone else does," Harry told them. "When he battled me he didn't care about Charizard. He was just trying to kill me. That was how he was going to prove his superiority. Not by being stronger than me, or a better trainer than me, but by actually killing me."

"Lots of Death Eaters are like that," Vance cut in. "Especially in war."

"But for Voldemort it was proof of his strength," Harry countered. "Battling me was supposed to prove to his Death Eaters that he was the strongest so he should have tried to defeat Charizard and then kill me. But he didn't."

"Voldemort doesn't care about rules or how something happens. All Voldemort cares about is that those who oppose him are dead. That's all he wanted. He just wanted me dead."

* * *

 **A/N:** And that's all for this chapter, thank you very much for reading. I just want to let you know that I'll unfortunately not be able to upload for a couple of weeks. This does not mean I won't still be working on the story so you don't have to worry about me not continuing on this project, I just won't be able to upload my work to this site for a bit.

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you when I get back.


	5. Mayhem In Diagon Alley

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Little else was said at the meeting and Harry was soon sent to bed with some answers, but a lot more questions too. How many Death Eaters had Voldemort managed to recruit? Why were the Ministry stubbornly refusing to see reason? And just what was Voldemort after that was so important that it had cost him dearly during the last war?

He, of course, shared all of his newfound information with Ron and Hermione, Ginny insisting on hearing it too with the threat that she'd have her Haunter follow him around if he refused. They were equally as quizzical about what Harry had heard, especially focused on the weapon Voldemort was after. Apparently they'd heard a lot about guard duty over their time at Grimmauld Place but they'd never had confirmation about what exactly was being guarded. Now they knew.

Life at Grimmauld Place settled into a rhythm, and one of little excitement at that. Soon Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the school age residents of the house had succeeded in removing the last of the mould from the drawing room, leaving nothing but the upper floors and that intimidating library to work through.

In that time there had been several Legion meetings, of which Harry was invited to none.

The monotony was only broken a few days into Harry's stay very late in the day.

Having slaved away to try and make some dent into the contents of the Black family library Harry had enjoyed Mrs Weasley's fine cooking before being kicked out of the kitchen for yet another Legion meeting, retreating upstairs to the newly cleaned drawing room with Ron and Hermione to work on an equally daunting task; homework.

"The evolution of Burmy is heavily influenced by the location in which said Pokémon evolves," Ron read aloud. "The cloak of Wormadam can take the properties of plant life, sand, or in more urban settings, trash." He looked up. "Sorry, what did that just say?"

"Burmy takes in elements of its surroundings through evolution in order to make up its greater body mass," Hermione lectured. "In the case of evolution on natural greenery the Pokémon will build a cloak based on leafy vines that will surround its body while if the evolution were to occur on a beach or desert the Pokémon would use electromagnetism to hold together the grains of sand for a similar effect."

Ron gave her an annoyed look. "That's not what I meant," he told her. "I get that. But how the hell do you get a Pokémon made of trash?"

"You clearly have forgotten about Trubbish, Mr Weasley," Harry, Ron and Hermione jumped as the strict voice cut through the room and they turned as one to the door. Professor McGonagall, Physiology Professor and setter of this particular piece of homework, was standing in the doorway, looking surprisingly in place with the old fashioned decor of the House of Black.

"Eh, yeah," Ron said stupidly, caught of guard. "Guess I forgot about Trubbish." McGonagall nodded her head briskly.

"I must say I am glad to see you are all working hard," she told them. "Your A.P.E examinations are of tremendous importance, both to the subjects you wish to take on into sixth year as well as in what you wish to pursue as a career, though I don't imagine any of you have put any thought into that." Harry, Ron and Hermione shook their heads.

"In any case I must not dally about," McGonagall spoke. "I must return to Hogwarts immediately. Before I go I just wish to drop off a few letters." She strode a step forward and pulled a small stack of envelopes from behind her back, placing them on the table. They made a 'clack' when they connected with the weathered wood.

"I will see you at Hogwarts," McGonagall said, though her students were no longer listening. As the Physiology Professor strode from the room Harry, Ron and Hermione gathered around the table, looking at the small pile of letters.

"Our Hogwarts letters," Hermione said, her voice a hushed whisper.

"And prefect badges too," Ron commented. "I wasn't the only one who heard that, right?" Harry and Hermione nodded together.

"Your one is on the top," Harry said, looking over to Hermione. She let out a small squeak, extending a hand cautiously forward, and lifted the envelope by the corner. Immediately they could tell the weight was not quite right and Hermione slit open the envelope and tipped it over, a small shiny prefect badge falling into her hand.

"Oh my," she whispered. She looked overcome. "I'm prefect." Despite their own nervousness Harry and Ron shared a grin.

"Congratulations Hermione," Harry told her.

"Knew it all along, of course," Ron reminded her, laughing slightly at the mere possibility Dumbledore would have chosen anyone but Hermione. "Alright Harry, now you open yours."

Nervous, despite the fact he wasn't even sure he wanted to be prefect, Harry lifted up the envelope with his name. It was tellingly light and as he opened it only paper fell out.

"Ah well," Ron said, giving Harry a supportive shrug. "What can you do? Guess Dean must have been chosen," and he reached forward to tip his own letter out onto the table.

A loud 'clack' sounded in the sudden stillness of the room. Everybody froze.

"Eh," Ron said awkwardly, looking down at the small badge that sat innocently on the weathered wooden surface. "You sure you got the right letter, Harry?"

Harry checked his letter, and then the envelope he'd taken it from. Both were quite clearly addressed to Mr H Potter.

"I think it's for you," Harry told him, turning to his friend. Ron was frozen in place.

"No," he said, shaking his head in denial. "No, that's not for me. It's a mistake, that's all. Bet McGonagall accidentally slipped it into my letter instead, she's getting old you know. No way they'd make me a prefect." But Hermione had reached forward and picked up the letter than came with it.

"Dear Mr Weasley," she read. "We are delighted to inform you that you have been selected as prefect for the upcoming academic year." Ron paled. "This decision was made after considering your time at Hogwarts and what we can expect to see from you over the coming year."

Hermione put down the letter. She leaned forward and picked up Ron's prefect badge, shining in the light from the fireplace, and inspected it carefully. "Interesting."

Harry couldn't help himself. He laughed.

"What's all this, what's all this," Fred and George entered the room, drawn in perhaps by Harry's laughter, and upon seeing his twin brothers Ron put his head in his hands and groaned.

"We just saw McGonagall a few moments ago," George said conversationally. "Handing out our Hogwarts letters. I see you've got your prefect badge, Hermione."

"Two of them," added Fred, spotting the one that already rested in her lap. "What, have you been appointed some sort of mega prefect?" The twins sniggered. Hermione flushed.

"No I have not," she said crossly, leaning forward to place Ron's prefect badge back on the table. "That is not my prefect badge."

Sobering up the twins turned their attention to Harry, looking disappointed.

"Harrykins, really?" George questioned. Harry shook his head.

"You want to look over there," he chuckled, jerking his head to his left, and as one the twins turned to their youngest brother, expressions of pure horror on their face.

"No."

Ron shook his head slightly from where it rested in his hands, unable or unwilling to face them.

"No," they repeated, looking to Harry and Hermione and then to each other. Their faces were white.

"No!"

But despite their protestations it didn't stop the fact that it was true. Ron Weasley had, for whatever reason, been chosen to be Gryffindor prefect. And it seemed few people shared the twins' sentiments.

When Mrs Weasley found out she'd practically burst into tears, throwing her arms around her youngest son as Mr Weasley looked on proudly. Remus congratulated him and even Percy took the time to stop over at headquarters to state how proud he was, to Ron's complete despair.

A party was planned, a celebration of Hermione and Ron being chosen as prefects, but it was held off until the weekend, after the children had a chance to visit Diagon Alley and get their school supplies.

This process was a lot more complicated than expected.

"Really Mad-Eye, don't you think this is a bit much?" Mrs Weasley asked on the Saturday morning they'd decided to head out to the alley. They were down in the kitchen, most of the children on their way down from their morning routines, and Mad-Eye was being especially paranoid.

"We don't move out until Shacklebolt and Tonks have scouted out the place," he barked back. "There are people out to kill Potter and so I'll not be risking anything." Mrs Weasley looked stricken.

"Harry, why don't you go upstairs and see how everyone's getting on," she said kindly. Harry wasn't fooled, she just wanted him out the room when subjects such as these came up.

But Harry didn't press the point. There was nothing to be gained, after all, from watching Moody and Mrs Weasley argue, again, about the security measures required for their trip to the Pokémon high street.

So he headed upstairs, having to be on his toes to avoid Fred and George as they came whizzing down the banister and sharing an exasperated look with Hermione as she passed before entering his bedroom.

Ron was still there, as Harry had expected, though he looked ready. He was sitting on his bed, back to Harry so that he hadn't yet noticed his arrival, and he was turning the prefect badge he'd received over in his hands.

"You're not thinking of wearing that?" Harry said, more sharply than he'd intended to. Ron jumped. "Fred and George would mock you senseless."

Ron gave him a queasy look. "Good point," he muttered, slipping the badge safely into the top drawer of his bedside cabinet. "Are we ready to go?" he asked, straightening up.

Harry nodded, walking round to his bed and fetching his money from his trunk.

"We're all downstairs," Harry told him. "All except Ginny, at least. We're just waiting for Mad-Eye to give us the okay." Ron nodded. He seemed really nervous.

Back downstairs they found they now had a full contingent of Weasleys, and they were all ready to go.

The plan was simple in theory, but logistically it was a nightmare. Moody's paranoia knew no bounds and what should have been a simple drive through London to where the Leaky Cauldron sat, gateway to Pokémon London, instead became a round about trip that, at least to Harry, seemed way over the top.

The first part of the plan was a five minute walk to an abandoned plot of land, where Mr Weasley's minivan was parked unobtrusively out of the way. The second part included a drive around what seemed to be at least half of London, a route clearly planned to minute detail by Moody who barked instructions at every intersection and growled at any hint of a complaint from the back. The Minivan was eventually parked at the top of a multi-storey car park, which was still a half hour walk away from the Leaky Cauldron.

This was when Ron decided to speak up.

"Harry, can I ask you something?" he said quietly, trying to avoid catching anyone else's attention. It worked, none of the rest of the group, apart from Moody, were still alert enough from their long journey to take note.

Harry nodded.

"Well," Ron started nervously. "It's just… you've been acting a bit… I don't know, weird, lately. I just wanted to ask… maybe it's about the prefect thing and all that. I was just wondering… maybe… if you had a problem with that." He looked anxiously towards Harry. Harry didn't say anything.

"I mean, if you did I can tell McGonagall to stuff it," he continued, more sure of himself. "You should be prefect, easy, so if you want…" He tailed off again. Harry shook his head.

"I don't want to be prefect," he said simply. It was the truth yet it didn't feel quite as simple as that. "You should definitely accept. You'll make a great prefect, especially with Hermione."

Ron looked relieved - this clearly had been weighing down on him a lot - but Harry wasn't so sure. He hadn't lied. He could hang his hat on that. But he certainly had some sort of problem about Ron being prefect. What was it? Ron would do a good job, he'd been telling the truth when he'd said that. And Harry himself had been adamant he didn't want it. But why was he feeling so sick?

They'd reached the Leaky Cauldron by the time Harry had come to this thought and he was once again distracted by Moody's endless paranoia.

"Wait here," he growled at him. "Don't move a muscle until I return. If you are attacked execute plan 2b." He stomped into the building, leaving the rest of them behind.

"Moody's mad, isn't he," Fred said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I suppose he had to get the name from somewhere," George added. "And I guess you have to be a little mad to walk through muggle London with a Murkrow on your shoulder."

Despite Moody's dire warnings and insistence of the dangers all around them nothing happened while he was away and eventually Moody returned and gestured for them to follow him through the famous Pokémon tavern.

All eyes turned to them as they entered. They weren't exactly subtle. In the dingy, cramped setting of the Leaky Cauldron the group of six children and three adults was hard to miss and they were far from unrecognisable. Moody, stomping through ahead of them, was unique, but even he was perhaps less recognisable than the infamous Weasley red hair. Harry almost felt like no one had even noticed him, to his relief.

They filed out through the back into the courtyard, squashing together so they could all fit into the small space.

"What's going on?" Ron wondered from the back, craning his neck to see why they'd all stopped.

"Moody," the twins said in unison, rolling their eyes.

Their carefree expressions were not reflected in the faces of their parents. Despite their clear annoyance with Moody's circuitous route to the Leaky Cauldron their postures were tense, their eyes on high alert, and they flinched as one as Moody stepped back through the wall.

"All clear from what I can tell," he growled. "But don't let your guard down. Arthur, you take the rear. Be on guard." And he walked back through the wall.

Harry had visited Diagon Alley several times before, once at least for each of the four years he'd spent at Hogwarts, barring last year when he'd spent almost all of his summer with the Dursleys, but never had he experienced it like this.

Unlike the carefree days of years past they were bustled hurriedly from one shop to another under the watchful eyes of Moody and his Murkrow. Mrs Weasley hurried through their booklists and various other supplies with a nervous efficiency and once everything was found and paid for they were hurried straight out to the next shop.

They weren't the only people acting weirdly. From what Harry could tell Diagon Alley was functioning completely as normal before they came along. But now, as they hurried from shop to shop, other shoppers stopped and stared, whispering behind their hands and pointing unabashedly towards them, and particularly towards Harry.

The surrounding people were clearly grating on Moody, who probably assumed that any one of them could be a Death Eater in disguise, but there were others speckled throughout the alley that Harry recognised well. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, that bloke Sturgis from the Legion, it only just dawned on Harry the extent of this operation.

"Excuse me." The tiny little voice distracted Harry as he felt a small tug on his shirt and he looked around and, surprisingly, down, to see the person that had gained his attention.

The little boy was tiny, no older than five or six, but even so Moody still tensed to see him standing so close to his protectee. Harry, on the other hand, relaxed slightly.

"Yes?" he asked politely, slightly unsure of himself. He'd never dealt with young children before, not since he was one at any rate.

The young boy looked nervous, biting his lip adorably, but then he held out a small plush teddy of a Charizard.

"Can you please sign it?" he asked timidly.

Harry had never been one to lap up his fame. In general he hated it, and when presented with the opportunity to autograph something his first response was usually to try and get as far away as possible. Yet this little boy was so obviously nervous and innocent, something that melted Harry's resolve, and he let out a small smile.

He was stopped from doing any more by the appearance of the boy's mother, and she did not look pleased.

"Kevin, what have I told you?" she hissed, pulling him away quickly.

"It's alright," Harry said, taken aback by the woman's over the top reaction. "It's not a problem." But the woman just glanced up at him with a look of pure terror before dragging the child away, whispering non stop into his ear.

Harry was stunned. He stood numb, watching the woman disappear down the alley, and as he did so he heard the whispers start up around him.

"Awful thing," one hushed voice said.

"So close to catastrophe," said another.

"Good thing he didn't let loose that feral Charizard on him." Harry blinked. They couldn't be talking about him.

He didn't get answers to his questions until late, once they had completed their shopping and been hurried back to where Mr Weasley's minivan was parked, stopping regularly as Moody checked to see if anyone was following them. It was in the back of the van that Hermione broke the news to him.

"The Prophet's been reporting all sorts," she admitted sadly. "It's all at the direction of the Ministry. Since they refuse to admit You-know-who is back they have to discredit the ones saying he is; Dumbledore and you."

"Me," Harry repeated, dumbfounded. He'd been at the Dursleys all summer, what did he do to deserve this.

"They're making you out to be some sort of delinquent," Hermione admitted. "They keep on making hints that you're not all there or mentally unbalanced. There's even some articles that hint that you might have had something to do with Cedric's death."

"What?!" Harry asked, and this time his voice was louder. "How can they say that? Who are they to judge what happened?"

"No one," Hermione agreed. "And they don't say it outright, that would be slander and they could be sued really badly because of that, but they hint it. They'll write stories debunking your version of events with phrases like 'exposing Potter's misdirection' or 'throwing doubt on Potter's alibi'. It's subtle, and they spread it around through multiple articles, but they've been spending all summer trying to convince the Pokémon community that you and Dumbledore have totally lost it."

"And what about Charizard?" Harry questioned. "I heard someone refer to him as feral back there."

"Yeah, they've been on Charizard's case too," Ron said grimly. "On the first story about the event they put a massive picture of Charizard just after he'd evolved, you know, with all the fire around him and everything. It looks totally badass but taken out of context he looks dangerous."

"He is," Harry growled. Going after him was one thing but Charizard… Without Charizard Harry would not have been here. Without Charizard it would be Harry's name added next to Cedric's on the list of fatalities. No one was going to insult Charizard without Harry having something to say about it.


	6. The Egg

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Harry fumed in silence for the rest of the way back, which was perhaps for the best as it meant he didn't notice just how long it took. It seemed Moody had insisted on a new, even longer, route back to the abandoned plot of land Mr Weasley was using as a carpark.

Eventually they made it back to Grimmauld Place and, finally, Mrs Weasley seemed to relax.

"Alright, everyone get your things upstairs and start packing," she told them briskly. "I'll get started on dinner." And so she did.

What Mrs Weasley probably had in mind when she'd sent them all on their way was that they would spent the time until dinner gathering up their supplies for the next term and pack as much as they could away for the last two weeks of the summer holiday. What she had forgotten to account for was that after an entire day on the move with no chance to stop for lunch the children were starving and it was only a few minutes, after dumping their stuff in their respective rooms, before they were heading back down to the kitchen.

Harry, distracted by what he'd learned on the way back from Diagon Alley, was the last one to make it back to the kitchen, and was therefore the last one to spot the unusual addition to the table.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you much about it at all, Hermione," Remus was saying calmly as Hermione peppered him with questions. "I just found it. Your guess is as good as mine."

What 'it' was was none other than a Pokémon egg. Harry had seen one before - that containing the Bagon, now Shelgon, Norbert - but even then there were very noticeable differences. Norbert's egg had been sky blue with cream splotches. This egg was brown. In fact, this egg would have hardly been worthy of comment had it not been for the zigzag pattern around the middle.

"But where did you find it?" Hermione had been in mid interrogation when Harry appeared so he took a seat and looked up at Remus expectantly. Everyone in the room was following the conversation, even Mrs Weasley, despite having her back turned as she manned the stove.

"In a forest," Remus supplied simply. "Exactly where does not particularly matter. It was in a nest, clearly abandoned, and so I felt it wouldn't be wise to leave it lying there. Who knows what would happen to it."

Harry glanced around the table. "What _would_ happen to it?" he asked. Remus sighed.

"A number of things," he said. "None of them good. There are many animals who eat eggs, even Pokémon eggs which would normally be better protected. Then there are black market traders."

"Black market traders?" Harry questioned.

"The worst scum," Sirius's voice sounded from the doorway. He'd appeared unnoticed but now he walked down the stairs into the room proper, his expression stormy. "The Black family have a long history of this sort of dealing. The trading of rare Pokémon has always been susceptible to criminal activity. The money involved is incredible."

"That would perhaps be the worst case scenario," Remus admitted. "Pokémon sold on the black market generally endure terrible living conditions and eggs especially are highly valued. If you have the egg then you can start to condition the Pokémon from birth, often for malicious purposes. Of course, hatching without anyone to look after it might be the worst outcome of all."

For a while the egg was put to one side, literally, as Mrs Weasley served dinner and the various people present dug in. They were quickly joined by others, too, most notably those that had been on duty at Diagon Alley earlier that day. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Sturgis Podmore, they all chatted along conversationally until such time as Mrs Weasley decided it was time for the younger trainers to leave the room in preparation for that night's Legion meeting.

Before Harry could leave he was stopped by Remus.

"Could you please take the egg upstairs with you?" he asked, passing the egg over into Harry's hands. Despite his experience with Norbert Harry had never held an egg before. It felt dangerously delicate in his hands.

And so he took great care of it as he went up the stairs, reaching the first floor landing where he paused, unsure of which way to go, before deciding on the drawing room. Once there he received a shock that almost made him drop the egg.

Albus Dumbledore was sitting before the fire, looking entirely calm and relaxed as he warmed his sock covered feet by the flames. To round off the image Crookshanks, the usually boorish Purugly, was curled up contentedly in his lap, purring as Dumbledore scratched him behind the ears.

It took a moment for Dumbledore to notice him but when he did he smiled.

"Ah, Harry," he said warmly from his seat. "How good to see you. Please, take a seat."

Harry hesitated, somewhat thrown off by the sheer relaxed nature vibe Dumbledore threw off. He didn't look much like a headmaster, and certainly not like the exceptionally powerful Pokémon trainer that he was. He looked more like an extremely dotty old grandfather.

Still, Harry wasn't about to disobey him and he walked forward, hesitating before placing the egg Remus had entrusted him with within the moth-eaten pillows of the other armchair. With the main seats taken Harry settled for the sofa instead.

Dumbledore did not make much of a move to leave. In fact, he seemed rather comfortable where he was, gazing into the fire, but eventually he turned his attention back to Harry.

"I assume by your presence that the meeting is due to start," he said, his eyes flicking over Harry's face. Harry nodded. "Well then, I must be off. Crookshanks, if you would be so kind." Crookshanks turned his ugly face up to Dumbledore, looking rather put out, but jumped down from his lap obediently, allowing Dumbledore to sit up straight.

"Professor," Harry said suddenly, a thought surfacing in his mind. "Professor, could I ask you something?" Dumbledore hesitated.

"If it is about the Legion of Ho-oh I'm afraid I cannot answer," Dumbledore informed him sadly. Harry scowled.

"It's not about the Legion, actually," he retorted, slightly mutinously. After all, even if he was asking about the Legion surely Dumbledore of all people could tell him about what was going on. Anyway, he had a different question in mind.

Dumbledore did not say anything in response, instead looking at Harry with his striking blue eyes over the rim of his glasses. He gave a short nod and settled back into his chair. Harry took courage from that.

"Last year the Sorting Xatu placed me in the Tri-Pokémon Tournament," Harry said and he knew he'd surprised Dumbledore by the way his aged eyebrows had risen. "Back then you told me that there must have been a reason why me being a part of the tournament was better than not. But Voldemort returned, and Cedric…" he swallowed. "And nobody believes it," he said instead. "How could things have turned out worse?"

Dumbledore favoured him with a thoughtful look, placing his hands together and gazing over them at Harry. Harry shifted.

"I admit, Harry, that I do not know," he said eventually. "It is a very good question. I have my theories but the Sorting Xatu remains silent on the subject and so that's all they are, theories."

"But what do you think?" Harry asked. In his experience Dumbledore's theories were more reliable than most people's facts.

"I believe that there must have been an even worse alternative, had you not been competing in the tournament," Dumbledore admitted. "Perhaps without you in the tournament Professor Karkaroff may have managed to kidnap you from the Hogwarts grounds without the aid of your loyal Charizard to defend you. Perhaps Voldemort would not care at all about completing his vengeance on your mother and instead returned quietly, with no witnesses. As horrible as the current situation is at least we know what's coming. And small in number though we may be and fighting against the weight of public opinion this small fact may be enough to tip the balance in our favour."

"May?" Harry questioned weakly. Dumbledore gave him a sorrowful look.

"Young though you may be I cannot bring myself to lie to you, Harry," he said tiredly. "You are more than capable of facing the truth. I cannot guarantee that this is a war we will win. I can only give you my word that I will not rest until you and your friends are safe once more."

He rose to his feet.

"And now," he said. "I must join my colleagues downstairs. Keep an eye on that egg, Harry, it seems like Crookshanks is taking a liking to it."

Harry turned sharply, rushing forward to gather up the egg before a waiting Crookshanks could get any ideas, and by the time he turned back around again Dumbledore was gone.

* * *

The Legion meeting had been quite short, from what Harry could make out it was mainly focused on discussing their trip to Diagon Alley, and soon the children were being called back down again to celebrate Ron and Hermione becoming prefects.

It was a jovial atmosphere in the kitchen as everyone talked and chattered. Several members of the Legion had stayed behind to wish them well, including Tonks, Kingsley and even Professor Dumbledore, who congratulated both of them before making his excuses. At the centre of it all Ron and Hermione soaked up the attention and enjoyed every minute of it.

Harry, however, kept himself to the fringes of the celebration. He didn't much feel like there was much to be cheerful about. Yes, he was glad that his friends were happy but there were so many other things weighing on his mind right now. The reaction to his presence in Diagon Alley and the discovery that the Prophet had been badmouthing him all summer was a horrid surprise, and the conversation with Dumbledore left a bad taste in his mouth. On top of that he was still conflicted over how he felt about Ron being prefect. He'd spent a long time lying in bed, alone, while the Legion had their meeting, and of all the things that were bothering him his own confused emotions had been at the forefront of his mind.

"Hey pup, you alright?" Sirius had appeared at his shoulder, some sort of alcoholic drink in his hand.

"Yeah," Harry answered, but not convincingly. He felt drained. It was almost like nothing really mattered to him at the moment.

"Sirius," he said after a moment's pause. "Have you ever been jealous of someone?" His question had clearly taken Sirius by surprise, for he frowned and looked out thoughtfully across the room.

"Yes," he said simply. "Of your dad." Now it was Harry's turn to be surprised.

"Why?" he asked. Sirius shrugged.

"Well, he had it all, didn't he," Sirius told him. "His parents loved him and spoiled him rotten and then there was the fact that he was just so good at everything. He was handsome, funny and talented. Hard not to be jealous of him really."

Harry frowned. "But he was your best friend," he pointed out. Again Sirius just shrugged.

"Sure," he agreed. "But if anything that just meant I saw more to be jealous of. His family, and I'm talking about you and Lily as well as his parents, they loved him so much. My family would happily behead me if it would please their lord." The simple certainty to Sirius's words made Harry feel sick.

"But being jealous doesn't stop you from being friends," Sirius continued. "Just because James had things that I wanted didn't mean that I had to hold it against him. On the contrary, what I wanted was family and James was more than happy to share that with me. In many ways he was family."

Harry wondered what his dad would have had to say on the situation. What did he think about Sirius's jealousy? Had he even noticed? Did Ron know?

"I think I'm jealous," Harry admitted quietly. "But it's stupid, I never wanted to be prefect in the first place. Why is it that because Ron was the one that got the badge I suddenly care about it?" To Harry's annoyance Sirius simply shrugged.

"It's normal to get jealous sometimes," he said instead. "No one has a perfect life and it is easy to hold it against someone when they get what you wish you'd got. I know you didn't really want to be prefect but there was certainly something you wanted that Ron has now got through becoming prefect."

"What?" Harry asked. Again Sirius shrugged.

"I can't really answer that for you, Harry," he told him. "Only you know yourself well enough for that." Harry frowned. He'd been trying to think of why he was jealous from the moment he knew that he was. Why was this so difficult to work out?

"Anyway, jealousy isn't always a bad thing," Sirius said easily, causing Harry to frown. That didn't seem right.

"I thought jealousy was a sin," he said, a concept fading in the far reaches of his mind.

"The seven deadly sins," Sirius said, completing the reference for him. "Envy, I think, is what it's called. But that's just a thing people say. There is good to jealousy, if you look at it the right way." Again Harry frowned.

"You see, Harry," Sirius said with the air of someone struggling to put his thoughts into words. "When you allow jealousy to rule you then that's bad. It breaks up friendships and leads to all manner of problems. Yet jealousy can sometimes tell you things about yourself you didn't already know."

"Take myself, for example," he said. "I was jealous of James's family. I had money and looks and smarts and personality but I didn't have family. Being jealous of James allowed me to realise that that's actually something I care about. To have a loving family is something I hope to have one day. And jealousy of James taught me that."

Harry considered this. That made sense, in an odd sort of way. It was like Hermione always said whenever he was struggling with his classes. Every failure should be studied and used to gain more knowledge, rather than simply dwelling on his own low scores he could improve himself so next time he wouldn't have to fail at all.

He was distracted as Sirius shifted, switching his glass from one hand to the other, his free hand dipping into one of his pockets.

"Here," he said, pulling out a small scrap of paper. "I want to show you something."

It was a picture. A very old picture. It was frayed around the edges and lines ran across from where it had been folded over one too many times but the figures were still visible, only slightly smudged.

"The original Legion of Ho-oh," Sirius told him as Harry looked down at the picture. "I'm sure you can recognise Dumbledore. He hasn't changed much since the first time I saw him." Indeed, Dumbledore was standing at the back, taller than most, and his long hair and beard were as magnificent as ever, if perhaps a few inches shorter. To his left stood Mad-Eye Moody, easily recognisable. He had a few less scars and a few more hairs but the man, as well as the Murkrow on his shoulder, couldn't possibly be mistaken for anyone else.

"There's Gideon and Fabian," Sirius said, pointing to a pair of redheads off to the side. "Molly's brothers, god rest their souls. And there's Marlene McKinnon. And the Longbottoms." Sirius sighed. "Their fate was the worst of the lot, I reckon."

Harry would agree. It wasn't that long ago that he had watched the memory of the LeStrange's trial for the attack on Frank and Alice Longbottom, the attack which had left them clinically insane. If ever there was a cure found Harry could only hope it would be in time for them to help guide Neville through childhood.

"And look, there's me," Sirius said, drawing back Harry's attention as he pointed to the handsome young man standing front and centre. "Quite a looker, if I do say so myself. And there's Remus, and James and Lily." He didn't mention the squat rat faced boy beside them and Harry didn't let his eyes rest on him as they immediately went to his parents.

"I know Hagrid got you a photo album a while back," Sirius said. "I'll have to thank him when I get the chance. But I figure you can't have enough pictures of Lily and James. And this one sums them up, I think. They fought the good fight. They never needed encouragement to put their lives on the line. In many ways they remind me of you, Harry." Sirius clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Look after yourself," he told him. "You've got a long time before you should see them again."


	7. The Prefects' Carriage

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Two weeks passed and Harry was still nowhere nearer to figuring out what it was he was so jealous of Ron for. He'd been causing all sorts of confusion with his new introspective attitude and his steadfast denial when it came to revealing what was bothering him was stumping both Ron and Hermione.

Eventually though it was time to head back to Hogwarts, to Harry's great relief. Spending the remainder of the summer with Sirius had been incredible but Grimmauld Place, with its lack of adequate lighting and the numerous areas that still needed a thorough clean out, was somewhere he was glad to see the back of. Still, he felt bad for leaving Sirius behind, although he knew Sirius would undoubtedly be busy when he was gone.

Perhaps sensing what Harry was thinking, or perhaps worrying equally about him in return, Sirius pulled Harry aside before he left the morning of September the first, ignoring the annoyed look on Moody's face and addressing Harry and Harry alone.

"You remember what I said, alright," he told him. "Take care of yourself. Ron and Hermione too while you're at it." Harry nodded. He wanted to share the sentiment but found that even acknowledging that something could happen to Sirius was more than he was willing to deal with.

Instead Sirius pulled something out of his pocket and held it up in front of him.

"Here," he said, holding the object up so that he could see. "Wear this around your neck."

Squinting closer Harry looked to examine the object, looped through a length of chain and dangling from Sirius's hand. It looked something like a marble, filled with greens and blues and holding a simple design in the centre.

"What is it?" Harry asked as he held out his hand, Sirius placing it delicately into his palm.

"You'll find out soon enough," Sirius assured him. "But make sure you keep it safe, alright. And keep it with you at all times. You never know when you might need it."

Harry wondered what Sirius meant by that, wondered what this albeit beautiful marble could do, but decided not to question it. He looped the chain over his head, grateful to find it slipped over with just a bit of room to spare and settled down at his chest and out of sight.

"Hurry up, Sirius, or we'll be late," Mrs Weasley's agitated voice cut through their conversation and Harry turned to find that everyone else had already filed out the front door.

Sirius cuffed him on the shoulder. "On you go," he encouraged. "I'll see you at Christmas." And as he stepped out the door Harry turned to get his last glimpse of Sirius before the door shut behind him.

"Come on, Harry, no time for that now," Mrs Weasley said, her voice harried. Harry didn't blame her. The Weasley family were traditionally late arrivals for the Hogwarts Express and with Moody spearheading their group it was a given their journey would take longer than usual.

And so Harry took his place in the procession as they walked the length of Grimmauld Place, grabbing hold of his trunk and falling into step with Remus, who glanced down at him and, to his surprise, at the chain around his neck.

"So I see Sirius decided to pass it on, then," he said mysteriously.

"I'm sorry?" Harry asked. Remus had a bag swung over his shoulder which, Harry had just realised, was not one of theirs.

"Nothing," Remus said simply with a smile. "You'll undoubtedly find out soon enough."

Whether Remus was intending to be mysterious or not it was annoying and again Harry was left without answers when he questioned what was in Remus's bag.

"Keep up," Moody barked from the front and Harry and Remus sped up to join the rest of the group.

It was undeniable that Mad-Eye Moody was paranoid. It was also undeniable that he had some right to be. Yet fortunately he decided to leave the worst of his paranoia behind on this morning and Mr Weasley was allowed to drive his minivan, loaded with luggage and passengers, straight up to Kings Cross station. Within moments they'd loaded their trunks onto trolleys and were walking into the station proper.

"Oh, Mad-Eye, could you not put that Murkrow away," Mrs Weasley complained. "People are staring." Moody shook his head.

"Murk is my eyes," he said stubbornly. "I won't put myself at a disadvantage for the sake of a few muggles. Now hurry up. The longer we stay in the open the more chance there'll be of an attack."

Perhaps it was because of Moody's organisation or perhaps they were all just too on edge to mess around but in no time at all, or so it seemed, they were at the Hogwarts Express, loading up their trunks onto the famed scarlet steam engine with time to spare.

It was then that Remus revealed what was in the bag.

"Here, Harry, take this with you," he said, hoisting the bag over and surprising Harry by its weight.

"What is it?" he asked, opening the bag to answer his own question. He gasped.

"The egg," Remus answered needlessly, though he was smiling. "It really is not practical to keep it round headquarters, not when there's so much going on and no one to keep an eye on it full time. Madam Pomfrey, however, is more than qualified to keep it safe and healthy until it is ready to hatch."

"Is it okay to travel by train?" Harry wondered worriedly, eyeing the bag with a lot more caution. The egg was now encased in a jar made of glass and nestled on a comfortable looking pillow but it still seemed awfully fragile.

"It'll be fine, Harry," Remus reassured him. "As long as you don't go out of your way to harm it the journey will not be a problem."

"Right," Harry said, secretly relieved to hear those words. He really shouldn't get so carried away, of course the egg was more robust than it appeared. After all, Remus had transported it to Grimmauld Place and then to Kings Cross, all without a single scratch appearing. Still, it would be foolish not to treat it with the utmost caution.

The whistle blew.

"That's our cue," Remus said, ushering Harry onto the train as the conductor went along, slamming doors behind him. "Have a good year, Harry, and look after yourself." It was a very similar goodbye to Sirius's and Harry wondered if there was something they weren't telling him.

Either way he had no chance to ask as the conductor finished his rounds and the Hogwarts Express started to pull away from the station. Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys leaned out the window to wave goodbye until eventually the platform was nothing but a blur in the distance and they were forced to pull themselves inside.

"I guess we should find a compartment," Harry said as he turned. Ron and Hermione shared a look.

"Well, actually we have to go to the front of the train," Hermione explained. "The prefects have a carriage there and our letters said we had to be there for a start of term meeting."

"Oh," Harry said. "Right." He really should have expected it.

"We'll come find you once it's over," Hermione assured him. "I'm certain it won't be too long."

"It'll probably be really boring too," Ron added. Harry nodded.

"Alright," he said, feeling somewhat lost. "See you later." And they were gone.

Harry stared off after them, an unusual feeling settling over him. He'd never travelled to Hogwarts before without Ron and Hermione. Now he was on his own. He found he didn't like that much.

A cough from behind him alerted Harry to the fact he was not, actually, alone. Turning around he found that, while Fred and George had left, Ginny remained, arms crossed and giving Harry a pointed look.

"What?" Harry said, rather defensively. Ginny just sighed.

"You don't have to look quite so much like a lost puppy, you know," she told him and he had to fight the urge to pout. That wouldn't help his case. "Come on, we'll find a compartment and wait for them. They won't be long."

Succumbing to the truth of her words, and the fact she was the only one left, he grabbed hold of his trunk, realising that Ron and Hermione had stacked theirs off to the side to get later, and followed Ginny down the aisle.

As was inevitable for those who boarded the train mere moments before it was due to set off there wasn't a spare compartment in sight. Harry was long since resigned to the fact that there wouldn't be a completely empty compartment for the two of them and so instead kept an eye out on the occupants as they went past, looking for anyone he was prepared to spend the many hours of the journey to Hogwarts with.

He found it not long later, a compartment at the latter end of the train, and Ginny was one step ahead of them, pulling open the door and walking confidently inside. "Hi Neville. Hi Luna."

Neville Longbottom, sitting in the compartment beyond, was perhaps Harry's best friend not named Ron or Hermione. He had grown some over the summer, except not exactly up. He had instead lost a decent amount of weight and it seemed the last of his baby fat, which had made Neville look somewhat childlike, was gone.

On the bench opposite Neville was none other than Luna Lovegood, the most unusual person Harry had ever met, barring perhaps Professor Dumbledore. She had long, dirty blond hair and wide eyes that gave her an almost surprised look. As was often the case she was wearing her unusual, kaleidoscopic glasses and cork neckless.

"Hi Harry," Neville greeted, having already said hello to Ginny, who was sorting out her trunk so Harry could follow in after her. "Where are Ron and Hermione?" It was telling that this was the first question Neville asked when he saw him.

"Prefect meeting," Harry answered and watched as the cogs in Neville's brain worked. It was highly amusing.

"Prefect meeting?" he repeated, a frown on his face. "But Ron…" and then it hit him. His eyes went wide.

Ginny laughed.

"Ron's a prefect," Neville gasped. "No way, I thought it'd be you." He blushed, realising how weird he was acting. "Sorry."

"That's alright, Neville," Ginny said cheerfully, still chuckling. "We've all done it." And despite Harry's ongoing battle with jealousy and what it truly meant he smiled. A lot of people were going to struggle with this.

Travelling without Ron and Hermione was weird but at least Harry was surrounded by three people he counted as friends, even if his interactions with Luna and Ginny tended to be fleeting when they were at school.

For several minutes Harry chatted with Neville, hearing him tell the tale of how his Great Uncle Algie got admitted to St Mungo's after starting a fight with a Wobbuffet, until he felt a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He looked around the compartment with a frown, taking in Luna and her Espeon, Pandora, Ginny with her Chikorita, who was talking animatedly with Pikachu, and Neville and Oshawott, who was watching the countryside fly past the window with wide eyes, before he realised what was bothering him.

"Neville," he said, cutting off Neville's description of how Uncle Algie's bones hadn't quite been broken. "Where's Ivysaur?" For some reason the grass type, Neville's starter Pokémon, was nowhere to be seen.

Neville beamed. "He evolved," he said excitedly. "He's too big now to fit in the compartment but when we get to Hogwarts I'll show you. He's huge now."

"Wow," Harry said, impressed. "You must have been training hard then." A shadow crossed Neville's face.

"Very hard," he admitted. "Gran has been on my case all summer. You see, now that You-know-who is back she's been having me train my Pokémon every day, sometimes even against her Pokémon. They're scary, they are."

"So you believe us," Harry said gratefully. Ever since learning of the smear campaign in the Daily Prophet he'd had a growing fear that everyone would be convinced he was lying.

Neville was not one of these people. "Of course," Neville said, looking dismayed by the thought otherwise. "You said he was back. You saw him. And Dumbledore did too, remember. I know the Prophet have been trying to convince everyone you're wrong but Gran says that if Dumbledore says he's back, he's back."

"And besides," he continued sadly. "How else do you explain Cedric's death?" A knife plunged into Harry's chest at those words. He did not miss the fact that Cedric should have been on this train today, no doubt spending his time with Cho or attending the prefect meeting. Knowing Cedric he'd probably have been Head Boy too.

Ginny glanced over, an annoyed look on her face.

"Would you both stop that," she said sharply. "There's no use getting everyone all depressed. It's not like it's going to help us against You-know-who, is it?"

"As unlikely as a Crumple-Horned Snorcack mating with a Taiwanese Trevenant," Luna said serenely. Despite herself Ginny snorted.

"Anyway, you guys have much bigger things to worry about," Ginny pointed out, more at ease now that Luna had broken the tension. "You've got your A. this year. If you're anything like my brothers then You-know-who will be the least of your problems."

Neville groaned.

"Gran was talking about them all summer," he complained. "Kept on going on about how I had to do my family proud. Longbottoms always do really well in their Apes but I'll be lucky to just scrape some A's." Harry frowned. That didn't sound right.

"Wait, A's?" he asked. "I thought getting an A was good. You know, like A, B, C, D." But Neville was shaking his head.

"Pokémon exams aren't like that," he explained. "A stands for Acceptable. There are six grades. You start with O for Outstanding, which is the best, then E for Exceeds Expectations, and then Acceptable is the final pass mark."

"So what are the fail marks?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Poor, Dreadful, and Slowpoke," Ginny answered promptly, grinning at Harry's disbelieving expression.

"Slowpoke?" he repeated. What sort of twisted system named one of their grades after a Pokémon. Especially that Pokémon.

"It's the worst grade you can possibly get, S," Neville explained. "I heard you have to get all the questions wrong to get it."

"Fred and George managed," Ginny said cheerfully. "History of Pokémon. Hardly surprising really." Professor Binns was widely acknowledged to be a completely useless teacher. Harry had heard the rumour that he'd been appointed for life to the post seventy years ago and so couldn't be replaced until he finally died. It wouldn't surprise him if that day was tomorrow given how frail the history professor was yet Binns had been like that for the entire time Harry had been at the school, and the oldest Weasley brothers corroborated that story.

Harry was saved from puzzling over the Pokémon world's grading system as the door to the compartment slid open and, at last, Ron and Hermione stepped inside.

"Finally," Ron said, gratefully collapsing into the seat beside his sister. "Never again."

"That bad, huh?"

"I don't want to be a prefect," Ron said simply. "Just take my badge now." Hermione huffed.

"It wasn't that bad," she denied, kicking at Ron's foot as he stretched out in his seat. It was blocking her from pulling her trunk into the compartment. "And are you going to get your trunk, Ron, or are you going to force me to do it instead?" The latter, it turned out, as Ron did not move and Hermione was forced to drag his trunk in too, making the compartment rather crowded.

"So how was the meeting?" Harry asked, interested. Though he was still struggling with his feelings towards Ron as a prefect he was very interested to know what exactly went on down the other end of the train.

"It was good," Hermione told him. "We went over some of the things we'd have to know when we get there, rules and responsibilities and the like. Roger Davies is Head Boy and he's really organised. He has plans for the whole year already, though he hasn't gone into those in detail. Today was really just an introduction to allow us all to get used to our roles and to meet our fellow prefects too." Ron groaned.

"And you'll never guess who the Slytherin prefect is," he complained.

"Malfoy," Harry said before he'd even registered the question. Really it couldn't have been anyone else.

Ron nodded. "You should have heard him when we were leaving, bragging about his Servine evolving and everything. I swear I was this close to punching him. It's not like it's even that impressive anyway, Charmeleon already evolved last year. You're still way ahead of him."

"Ivysaur evolved over the summer, too," Harry mentioned, trying to subtly hint for Ron to stop talking. He had, admittedly unknowingly, put quite a damper on Neville's achievement.

"Really?" Ron's eyes blinked open, blearily focusing on Neville. "Congratulations, mate." Neville gave him a grateful smile.

"Anyway, just thought I'd warn you about Malfoy," Ron continued, eyes closing again. "You just know he's going to try and get you in trouble. Whoever thought it'd be a good idea to give a Malfoy power?"

"His power is limited," Hermione pointed out. "Only the Head Boy and Girl and the professors can give out any real punishment. Although I do admit Malfoy will likely be quite annoying this year." Ron snorted.


	8. The Feast

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The rest of the journey passed in comfortable companionship from then on. In many ways it was quite a relief. Harry hadn't realised how tense and on edge he had been over the summer, even after joining up with the others at Grimmauld Place, but now that he was heading back to the familiar comfort of Hogwarts he started to feel truly at peace.

Hermione and Ron had to leave again after a while, under instructions to occasionally patrol the train, much to Ron's annoyance, and so he grumbled his way out of the compartment with the condition that Hermione promised they would not be out for too long. For the most part she kept to her word.

They reached Hogsmeade station without incident and indulged themselves in the familiar routine of disembarking the train and heading towards the Zebstricka pulled carriages, waving to Hagrid as they passed, Norbert the Shelgon standing patiently at his side as they waited for the new first years to gather.

They were forced to split up once they reached the carriages, Neville joining Harry, Ron and Hermione in one while Ginny and Luna headed off to where the Creevey brothers, fourth year Colin and second year Dennis, were clambering into a carriage themselves as Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were whisked away along the path and up towards the castle.

So caught up was he in the comfort of tradition that Harry was completely oblivious to his task as he moved to sit down at the Gryffindor table until he swung his bag from his shoulders and was reminded what was in it.

"Damn," he whispered, drawing the attention of his friends. "I was supposed to deliver this to Madam Pomfrey."

"Won't she be at the feast?" Ron pointed out.

"She's not here," Harry told him. A quick scan of the staff table, his eyes, for now, skipping over the woman sitting in the Pokémon Battling professor's spot, showed him that the Hogwarts matron was not there.

"Maybe she's waiting for you," Hermione suggested. Harry nodded.

"I'll be back as quickly as I can," he told them, jumping to his feet and lifting the bag back over his shoulder. "Save me a seat." And he hurried out of the Great Hall.

It was an unusual feeling, rushing through the familiar castle with the knowledge that he wouldn't bump into anyone, all staff and students, barring, it seemed, Madam Pomfrey, heading for the Great Hall and not going anywhere near the upper floors. He was grateful for it to be over and was even more grateful to find Madam Pomfrey waiting for him in the Hospital Wing.

"I've been expecting you, Potter," she said in greeting, her no nonsense attitude as familiar as the room itself. "You've got the egg?" Harry nodded, lowering the bag from his shoulder and passing it over to the matron.

Madam Pomfrey accepted it without question and peered inside before setting it down lightly on a bed. Reaching inside she lifted the egg, jar included, from its confines and laid it out gently on the soft sheets. A moment later the jar, too, was removed and the egg lay bare for the world to see.

"I see what Mr Lupin was talking about," Madam Pomfrey commented. "For an egg found abandoned in the wild it is in remarkably good shape. I have high hopes that this egg will be able to hatch a very healthy Pokémon."

That was good news to hear and Harry watched as Madam Pomfrey gently lifted the egg into the air and carried it a short distance to where a set of pillows had been plumped up on a trolley. Madam Pomfrey lay the egg down in the centre, snuggling it up into the fabric, before pulling away.

"You should get down to the feast," she informed Harry, done, it seemed, for now in her treatment of the egg.

And Harry did, hoping that he hadn't missed much. He'd probably missed the sorting, unless there were an abnormally large amount of new first year students, but if he was lucky the feast itself might not have started yet.

As it was he was lucky. The sorting had finished, as expected, but as Harry snuck in the door and hurried down to his place with Ron and Hermione the new professor, dressed all in pink, was in the middle of some sort of speech.

"Who's that?" Harry muttered quietly as he took his seat. Hermione was listening intently so did not answer but Ron, looking incredibly bored, was happy to fill him in.

"New battling professor. Professor Umbridge," Ron told him, sounding quite unimpressed. "She had some nerve interrupting Dumbledore, she's been talking for five minutes already."

"What's she saying?" Harry asked, but Ron shrugged. He didn't seem to be listening much, if at all, and a quick glance around the hall showed that he was far from the only one. Only Hermione, her brow furrowed in a frown, was providing Professor Umbridge her full attention.

"… old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

She sat down.

The end of her speech had come so suddenly, with so few people having followed it, that it took some time for a round of applause to sound unenthusiastically around the hall. Dumbledore applauded politely from the head of the staff table whilst tellingly Hermione didn't applaud at all, a frown fixed upon her forehead.

As the lukewarm applause faded Dumbledore stood up, smiling widely at the students and showed no signs of noticing whatever it was that bothered Hermione. "Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating."

"Illuminating? Was he listening to the same thing we were?" muttered Ron.

"But now that we've dispensed with our talking it is time for the feast. Tuck in."

Professor Umbridge's speech was forgotten as quickly as it finished as the hungry students were distracted by mounds upon mounds of food, delivered to them with the professional efficiency of the Hogwarts Pokémon caterers, and for a few minutes there was silence but for the clinking of cutlery and the sighs of satisfaction before conversation brewed once more.

Hermione, however, was poking at her food uninterestedly.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked as Hermione moved from her starter to her main with little enthusiasm.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron agreed. "Food. Aren't you starving?" But Hermione shook her head.

"Is it about Professor Umbridge?" Harry wondered. She'd been quiet since the speech. "I only came in halfway through."

"Then you didn't hear what I heard," Hermione told him. "That speech was… terrifying." Harry and Ron shared a look.

"Terrifying?" Ron repeated with a laugh. "How can anything she says be terrifying. Look at her. I'm more scared of Dennis Creevey than I am of her."

"It's not about how scary she looks," Hermione said sharply. "It's what she said. If it's true then it really is terrifying."

"What did she say?" Harry wondered.

"That the Ministry is going to be paying a lot more attention to what is going on at Hogwarts this year," Hermione told him. "I spoke with Percy over the summer and he mentioned her. He said she was a bureaucrat and moreover a Fudge loyalist. I sincerely doubt that Dumbledore would have chosen to hire her unless he had no other choice."

"So, what, you think he couldn't find anyone for the job?" Ron wondered, glancing up to the staff table.

"Maybe," Hermione said. "We've had four teachers in four years. Job security doesn't seem particularly guaranteed."

"Damn," Ron muttered, stabbing dispiritedly into his chicken. "Wish Moody had stayed on."

"Me too because then the Ministry wouldn't have had an in," Hermione pointed out. "This is a power grab. Fudge doesn't like Dumbledore for daring to tell the truth so he's trying to remove his influence. Bad mouthing him in the press helped with that but there are still a lot of people that trust his judgement."

"Like Neville's gran," Harry said, remembering his conversation with the boy on the train.

"And the board of governors," Hermione agreed. "They removed Dumbledore after being threatened by Lucius Malfoy and a student almost died. They won't fire Dumbledore just cause the Ministry asked them to. So that means that the only way the Minister can control what's happening at Hogwarts is to have someone on the inside."

"And in a position of power," Harry realised. "Umbridge has all sorts of responsibilities over students. Who's to say she won't have them report to her about things."

"Like who believes that You-know-who is back," Hermione said darkly. "She can find out those who are loyal to Dumbledore and target them. Imagine if Mr Weasley wasn't already a known Dumbledore supporter. If the Ministry found out that Ron, Fred, George and Ginny all supported Harry then they could demote him or have him fired, or even arrested on a bogus charge."

"They could do that anyway," Ron said worriedly. Harry too felt sick. The situation Hermione had laid out seemed very realistic. Could these things happen to Mr Weasley if he refused to agree with the Ministry? Harry's gut instinct was yes.

"Anyway, I just think we should keep an eye out," Hermione said, turning to her food with a somewhat defeated posture. "Umbridge may look harmless but she reports directly to the Minister. And he's far from harmless."

The feast was far from enjoyable from that point on, Harry and Ron quickly discovering Hermione's lack of motivation to eat after hearing her take on Umbridge's speech. Eventually, thankfully, it finished, and the students were soon given their leave.

"Ron, stop," Hermione said frantically as Ron got up with Harry to leave. "We've got to escort the first years up, remember." The look on Ron's face quite clearly showed he hadn't remembered.

"Right. Of course," he said quickly, trying to cover for himself. "I was just, you know, standing up so they could see me." A moment passed before Ron looked quite impressed by his save. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I'll see you up there," Harry said quickly before he could get drawn into their discussion. Despite his gladness that he wouldn't be escorting first years the reminder that Ron was prefect and he wasn't was still a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Alright, see you later," Ron said, unaware of Harry's undesirable thoughts. "Oy, Midgets, over here!"

Harry left quickly as he heard behind him Hermione scold Ron for his comments, side stepping his way through the first years answering Ron's call. Several pairs of wide, awestruck eyes looked up at him as he passed and he did his best to ignore them, while silently wondering if they thought him mad or a hero. He reached the Entrance Hall, gaining some semblance of air from the claustrophobic melee in the Great Hall, and began his journey, on his own, upstairs.

"Hey! Watch it!" The shout from up ahead was familiar, coming from one of Harry's friends and dorm mates at Hogwarts, Dean Thomas, as a pair of second year Ravenclaws almost knocked him over in their rush to get to the tower.

"Hey Dean," Harry said as he caught up with the boy, noticing as he did so that he was accompanied by his other dorm mate, Seamus Finnegan, whose shorter stature had left him hidden in the crowd. "Hey Seamus."

"Hey Harry," Dean greeted back. "Good summer?" Seamus stayed awkwardly silent.

Harry shrugged. "Not bad," he admitted, though silently thinking that 'not bad' was a relative term when it came to summer with the Dursleys. "You?"

"Alright," Dean said, much in the same way Harry had. "Mum was a bit clingy. You know, overprotective. She believes Dumbledore, you know, so naturally she was sure Death Eaters would be out in the streets at any moment."

"And you?" Harry asked warily. He hoped that Dean, who was a sensible and level-headed bloke, would see the truth. Then again he didn't know Dean quite as well as he did Ron or even Neville, so for a brief femtosecond he held his breath.

"I agree," Dean told him, causing him to let out a sigh of relief. "We both do, though Seamus has had a bit of a hard time of it." He turned to look at the shorter boy, who had been unusually quiet during the conversation, and Harry looked too.

"Me Mam's been a bit difficult about it," he admitted, not meeting Harry's eyes. "She reads the Prophet, you know. Believes what they say about Dumbledore losing his touch and…"

"About me," Harry didn't need to be told the rest.

Seamus winced. "Yeah," he said guiltily. "Sorry."

Great, Harry thought, fighting to keep himself from saying it out loud. Really great.

But in the end it was better than it might have been, as Dean chatted away idly and the three of them climbed up to the seventh floor and Gryffindor Common Room. Dean believed him, and so did Seamus. And with Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, Luna and Neville that more or less covered the people he truly cared about, with a few exceptions. He could deal with people not believing him. He could even understand it. Just so long as those who knew him, and understood him, did not believe he was lying to them.

And in the end it didn't make much of a difference. Eventually they'd all know. Eventually, when Voldemort made his move, they'd find out first hand just how right Harry was.


	9. Delores Umbridge

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

In contrast to the stresses of the previous day the first day back at Hogwarts was strikingly normal. It was almost like nothing unusual had happened, as the fifth year boys got up and dressed for their first day back and hurried down to the Great Hall for their breakfast. The normality was only slightly altered when their timetables were delivered and they discovered their very first battling class with Umbridge was that very day.

Things didn't really start to break the norm until Physiology, the first class of the day, where, as usual, Professor McGonagall gave them all a firm talking to.

"This year," she told them. "Is different. There is no room for slacking off or putting in lacklustre efforts when it comes to your studies. I could not stress the importance of the education you are about to receive."

"Your A. , or Average Pokémon Examinations if you would, will be sat at the end of the year and will encompass everything you have learned over the course of your first five years at this establishment. You will be tested rigorously and your performance will be of vital interest to both yourself, this school, and potential future employers as without acceptable grades in certain subjects you will be unable to continue with them to S.P.A level."

"Do not think you can leave this to the last minute," she warned. "No student in this class, no matter how bright or naturally intelligent, is capable of doing well in these exams without adequate preparation. Your revision will start now. Your professors will expect full effort. And it is only yourself that suffers if you refuse to rise to their standards."

McGonagall let a moment of silence hang in the air as her words sunk in. No one spoke or made a sound, not one person willing to incur McGonagall's wrath upon them. They would do as she said, if for no other reason than not to disappoint her. She was a truly terrifying woman to anger.

"Now, we shall move on to the topic of today's class and indeed the topic of the year for Pokémon Physiology," Professor McGonagall continued, seemingly satisfied that her point had been taken in. "The subject shall be Mega Evolution."

A whisper swept through the class, though Harry was left stumped. Ron, too, looked confused and only Hermione, who had no doubt read the Physiology textbook from cover to cover already, looked like she knew what was going on. Outside their group was an entirely different matter. Seamus was muttering something excitedly into Dean's ear while across the classroom, as far away from Harry as possible, Malfoy's eyes gleamed.

McGonagall, whilst Harry had been scanning the room, had walked over to a projector sitting on her desk, dimming the lights in the classroom before whirring the machine to life.

A picture, one of a Pokémon intimately familiar to Harry, a Charizard, appeared on the screen. But it looked different. Everything about this Charizard was much more angular than Harry's own, from its face to its wings to its short arms, each attached with a small wing-like appendage.

"Mega Evolution is one of the most advanced subjects in the world of Pokémon Physiology," McGonagall lectured as Harry puzzled over the unusual Charizard on screen. "It is a recent phenomenon, only truly falling into common use over the last twenty to thirty years, and so there is a lot we still don't know, which leads to many interesting and unanswered questions."

"Mega Evolution is an ability which very few species are able to take advantage of," McGonagall continued and she switched the projector. On the screen stood a fearsome looking Garchomp, but again noticeably different from what Harry knew a regular Garchomp looked like.

"What Mega Evolution is is best explained by what it does," McGonagall told them. "When a Pokémon with the ability to do so Mega Evolves it takes on a new, though similar, form. This form is accompanied by increased strength, speed and stamina." She switched the projector again. Now shown was an even more dangerous looking form of a Beedrill.

"The strength of this new form comes from the strength of the Pokémon's bond with its trainer," McGonagall explained, switching to yet another picture on the projector. "A Pokémon cannot achieve Mega Evolution on its own. It is a process based on mutual trust."

But Harry had stopped listening. The picture on the projector had blocked out all other input and his hand went to his chest. The marble like object was just noticeable through the material of his shirt, he had not taken it off since Sirius had handed it to him at the door to Grimmauld Place. But now he was looking up to a picture with an almost identical version on the screen and he finally found out what it was.

"Mega Evolution requires two objects," Professor McGonagall explained, referring to the screen where two spheres were shown. One was like what Harry had hidden under his shirt. The other was much larger.

"The first object shown here is the Mega Stone," McGonagall explained. "In order to Mega Evolve the Pokémon in question must hold the Mega Stone that matches its species. For the case of Altaria, for example, the Mega Stone required would be Altarianite. For Glalie it would be Glalitite."

"The second thing required is a Key Stone," McGonagall continued. "This is to be held by a trainer and together these two stones provide a link from which the bond between trainer and Pokémon can be materialised into usable strength and power. Only with a strong connection can Mega Evolution be pulled off. Without it Mega Evolution is impossible."

McGonagall's lesson had got the whole class excited and they were practically buzzing as the bell went and they left the Physiology classroom.

"Hey Finnegan!" Dean shouted. "Want to take on me and my Mega Hariyama!"

"Hariyama can't Mega Evolve, dumbass!" Seamus shouted back.

"I wonder if Arcanine can Mega Evolve," Ron said excitably as he, Hermione and Harry walked away. "It would be awesome if he could become even more powerful." Hermione shook her head.

"Arcanine can't Mega Evolve, I'm sorry," she told him. "Most Pokémon can't. Wartortle will be able to if he evolves but apart from that only Harry's Charizard can Mega Evolve out of our Pokémon." She frowned. "I thought you would have known about Mega Evolution," she told him. "Don't your family have Mega Evolving Pokémon?"

Ron shrugged. "I don't know about Bill and Charlie," he said. "Charlie has a Charizard so I suppose he could Mega Evolve that but I've never seen him do it. Same with Bill. I suppose dad might be able to Mega Evolve something." But Hermione was shaking her head again.

"Only fully evolved Pokémon can Mega Evolve," Hermione reminded him. "Mr Weasley only has a Magby and Quilava. Besides, it's not just the right Pokémon you need, you also need the right Mega Stone and a Key Stone too."

Harry wanted to speak up at this point, to tell Ron and Hermione about the gift Sirius had given him before they'd left, but he was interrupted before he could speak by the sound of his own name.

"Potter!" Angelina Johnson, seventh year and fellow Gryffindor, and most importantly to Harry Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, was fighting through the crowd towards them.

"There you are," she said as she finally reached him, standing tall and imposing before him.

"Hi Angelina," Harry said, though it didn't seem like the older girl was in the mood for pleasantries. Indeed she did not respond to his greeting.

"I've been made Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team," she told him without preamble.

"Congratulations," Harry said but she waved it off.

"I've arranged tryouts for this Friday," she told him, getting to the heart of the matter immediately. "We need a new Keeper now that Wood's gone. I want the whole team to be there to make sure we make the right choice."

"I'll be there," Harry told her. Quidditch, the popular trainer sport, was one of the most important parts of Harry's life at Hogwarts. As Seeker he had not lost a single match, although he had participated in a draw against Hufflepuff in third year after Talonflame, who'd been a Fletchinder back then, was struck by lightning during the match. With a pang he remembered it had been Cedric Diggory that had been the opposing Seeker that day.

Angelina left immediately after receiving his confirmation, heading off to her next class as Harry, Ron and Hermione did the same.

"You know, I might just try out for the team myself," Ron mused as they walked, throwing an unsubtle glance towards his friends to gage their reaction.

"That would be a good idea," Hermione agreed readily. "You'd get along well with the rest of the team so you'd be able to fit right in. What Pokémon do you think you would use?"

"I don't know, I was thinking Machop," Ron said uncertainly. "Arcanine can't really hold the Quaffle and neither can Wartortle really. Pig would probably just get knocked out if he played. What do you think, Harry?"

Harry hesitated.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. Ron's face fell. "I mean there might be someone else who might tryout too," Harry said hurriedly. "With Wood gone it'll be open season for the position."

"But you think I have a shot?" Ron pressed.

"Sure," Harry agreed, though even as he said it he felt he sounded unconvincing. Fortunately Ron didn't seem to notice.

"Great," he said as they came into sight of their next classroom, the Pokémon Battling room, and walked inside. "I think Machop would really work. He's a lot more agile than he looks and has hands so he can throw the Quaffle easily."

Harry blocked out Ron's words as he talked about the pros and cons of using Machop as a Keeper and directed his thoughts inwards instead.

His exploration of his jealousy into Ron had yielded him little result and he had started to grow used to the jabbing pain he'd get whenever the reminder that Ron had been chosen prefect over him came up. But he had never thought his jealousy would spread into other areas of his life.

Deep down Harry knew the right thing to do was to encourage Ron, and it was really what Harry wanted to do all along. But in the moment when Ron had voiced his desire to be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team his entire being had lashed out against the thought. He'd even, however briefly, tried to discourage his friend from trying out.

Why did he do that? What possible reason could Harry have to not want Ron on the team? Logically it would be a great idea. What could make Quidditch even better than being able to play and practice with his best friend? But even now, rationalising it, he still felt as though he didn't want Ron trying out. He felt protective. He felt like he needed to keep the team, his team, to himself.

He realised suddenly that he didn't want to lose it to Ron. He didn't want to lose Quidditch, what truly made him special at Hogwarts, to Ron. Despite how selfish it sounded he didn't want to share the limelight.

He was broken out of his revery by the sound of the door shutting with a sharp snap.

Professor Umbridge strode from the back of the room to the front, still dressed in her ridiculously pink outfit from the night before, and turned, looking out over the students with a satisfied expression on her toad like face.

"Well," she said. "Good morning, class." There was a muttered response from the assembled students. It was always the same for the first class with a new teacher, no one knew how strict or otherwise they would be so nobody stepped out of line.

"Now, that won't do now, will it," Umbridge told them, a chiding expression on her face. "When I say good morning I expect you to reply 'Good morning, Professor Umbridge'."

Harry and Ron shared a look. While he may have just been worrying over Ron stealing what it meant to be Harry there was still a lot of common ground they held and they both agreed that, already, they didn't like Professor Umbridge.

"Now, lets try again," Umbridge sad. "Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Professor Umbridge," the class replied in a monotonous drone, putting as little effort as they could get away with into the words. It didn't seem to bother Umbridge, however. In fact, she looked rather pleased.

"Excellent, well lets get started then," she said sweetly. "Everyone take out some paper and copy down what is on the blackboard."

Harry hadn't paid any attention to the blackboard when he'd walked in, assuming it to be blank. Most teachers who used the blackboards, which wasn't necessarily all of them, liked to write things down during the lesson. Professor Umbridge, it appeared, had already written everything down.

"Pokémon Battling; a return to basic principles," Professor Umbridge recited the first line from the blackboard as the students started to copy it down. "Over the years you have had, if I am not very much mistaken, four different teachers for this class. That does not do for a stable learning environment and has undoubtedly left many holes in your knowledge. Fortunately I am here in time to fix this for your all important A.P.E year. In this class we will follow the theory centred, Ministry approved course for defensive Pokémon battling which will undoubtedly help all of you to pass your end of year examinations."

Harry frowned a bit at that. Theory centred didn't sound particularly fun. Ministry approved automatically raised his suspicions. The only sensible point was the focus on defence. That would be very useful for a lot of people if they found themselves face to face with Death Eaters.

"Our Course Aims are detailed on the blackboard," Umbridge continued sweetly. "They are, 1; To understand the principles underlying defensive Pokémon techniques, 2; To learn to recognise when Pokémon battling is legal and safe, and 3; To place defensive techniques in a context for practical use. Does everyone understand?"

A few murmured 'yes's filtered throughout the room and with a sinking feeling Harry knew what Umbridge was going to say before she said it.

"Tut, tut," she told them, confirming Harry's suspicions. "When I ask you a question you either reply with 'Yes, Professor Umbridge' or 'No, Professor Umbridge'. Now, does everyone understand?"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge," the class chanted back. Harry sighed. This was such a waste of time.

"Very good," Umbridge said, again with that sickly pleased tone. "Has everyone got a copy of 'Defensive Pokémon Theory', by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge," the class intoned. Umbridge's smile grew.

"Good, then if you will all turn to page five and read 'Chapter One: Basics for Beginners'. There will be no need to talk."

Harry sighed as he pulled out his textbook, which he had skimmed through briefly before coming to Hogwarts. It hadn't been particularly interesting, from what he remembered, but it would be better to just read from the book than continue to listen to Umbridge speak. He opened the book to page five and began to read.

A nudge in his ribs broke his attention only a few lines in. He turned his head to Ron, frowning, but Ron just jerked his thumb across to Harry's other side.

Hermione was not reading the book. She hadn't even opened it. Instead her hand was held high in the air and she waited patiently, sitting straight in her chair, for Umbridge to notice her.

"Yes, Miss…?" Umbridge asked.

"Granger," Hermione supplied.

"Ms Granger, what appears to be the problem?" Umbridge asked. "Why are you not reading 'Chapter One: Basics for Beginners' as I assigned?"

"I've already read Chapter One," Hermione told her. Umbridge looked surprised, then recovered.

"Then please move on to Chapter Two," Umbridge told her. "You are disturbing your fellow students." Ironically she had a point. The whole class were watching the exchange rather than working on the assignment they'd been given.

"I've already read Chapter Two," Hermione told her. "I've read the whole book." Umbridge's eyebrows raised.

"Really?" she said doubtfully. Hermione nodded.

"And I have some questions about your course aims," she said.

Umbridge tutted. "I'm afraid, Ms Granger, that it is not your place to question what is studied in my class." Hermione ignored her.

"I've reread the 'Course Aims' and nothing in there says anything about using offensive moves," Hermione said.

"And your question?" Umbridge replied in a sickly sweet tone.

"Won't offensive moves come up in the exam?" Hermione asked pointedly.

"Offensive moves will indeed be a part of the exam but so long as you know the theory there is no need for any more study on the subject," Umbridge told her.

"But I've read Slinkhard's book," Hermione said. "There is absolutely no offensive theory in there."

"And just for what use would you want offensive theory, Ms Granger," Umbridge said. "My, the way you talk makes it sound as though you want to attack someone." Harry's eyebrows rose rapidly at that and a glance to his side showed that Ron was equally surprised.

Hermione was angry.

"I have no wish to attack anyone unless I was acting in self defence," she said hotly, only just managing to keep her tone from becoming insolent. "Surely defending yourself from an attack requires more than just knowledge of defensive technique. By having a thorough grounding in offensive moves you'll be able to fight back against people who attack you and you'll be better equipped to recognise your opponent's attacks and be able to determine the best way to defend against them. Not learning about offensive manoeuvres just puts you at a ridiculous disadvantage."

The whole class was silent. Hermione's rant had no immediate response from Umbridge, probably because there wasn't a reasonable response. Hermione was right and it would say a lot about the type of professor Umbridge was going to be how she reacted to this fact.

"Detention, Ms Granger," Umbridge said sharply, her voice losing its sugary quality. "Five o'clock. My office. And twenty points from Gryffindor."

It was the most dramatic first lesson any of them had ever had, and that was saying something. After the conflict between Hermione and Umbridge everyone kept their heads down and read 'Defensive Pokémon Theory', though how many of them were actually reading Harry did not know, his own head much too full to take in any of the words.

Next to him Hermione was fuming and she continued to be fuming when she returned to the Gryffindor Common Room at a quarter to midnight, rubbing her hand and muttering under her breath in a way that was so not like Hermione.

Harry and Ron, in support of their friend, had waited up, although they'd never expected to have to wait up so late. Hermione had been away for so long that it had got to the point where Harry and Ron had actually completed all of their homework for the day, an essay about the Pokémon that had the capabilities to Mega Evolve for Professor McGonagall and another summarising Chapter One of 'Defensive Pokémon Theory' for Professor Umbridge, when she finally returned.

She wasn't shy about sharing her feelings.

"That horrible woman," she complained as she settled into an armchair, looking incredibly relieved by the comfort of the plush piece of furniture.

"What did she have you do?" Harry asked, eyeing Hermione's exhausted features and her sore wrist.

"Lines," Hermione told them. "More lines than I thought I had the ability to write."

"And that's saying something," Ron added. "What did she have you write? 'I must not have a point'?"

"Almost," Hermione replied with a small, involuntary smile. "She had me write 'I must not question my professor' over and over again. I mean, it's outrageous. The whole idea is that when you don't know something you ask the professor so they can tell you and help you learn. Umbridge clearly has no idea how to actually teach. I doubt she even cares."

"True, I can't imagine many people think making kids read all class is a good teaching strategy," Ron said. "Seems a bit lazy to me. Makes it seem like she couldn't really be bothered, you know. Still, I'm surprised you went off at her like that. Usually it's one of us… well, me, who does stuff like that."

"I know," Hermione admitted and she moaned slightly. "I can't believe I got detention."

"Doesn't count if it's from Umbridge," Harry said quickly. Hermione gave him a small smile.

"I guess what set me off so much was something Percy told me when we were back at Headquarters," Hermione said. Harry and Ron shared surprised looks.

"What did he say?" Harry asked.

"And why have you been talking to Percy so much?" Ron added. Hermione ignored Ron's question.

"He told me that the Minister is worried about Dumbledore," Hermione said. "According to Percy, Fudge has it in his head that Dumbledore wants his job and that he's going to try and overthrow the Ministry. There's rumours out there about the Legion so he has enough to stoke the paranoia but apparently he thinks that Dumbledore is actually recruiting straight out of Hogwarts."

"What, he thinks Dumbledore's trying to recruit an army?" Harry asked. "With school kids?"

"I never said his paranoia made sense," Hermione said tiredly. "Usually paranoia is unfounded. But yes, Fudge is worried Dumbledore is training his students to take down the Ministry."

"So he sent Umbridge," Ron cottoned on. "When Dumbledore couldn't find someone qualified to take the job the Minister sent her to make sure we didn't learn anything that might be used against them."

"I didn't really believe Percy at first," Hermione admitted. "But now I think he might be underselling it. Slinkhard's book is great on defensive theory but it was meant as a set. You can't just use defence in battle, you have to attack at some point or else you've lost."

"Agreed," Harry and Ron said together. Harry could only imagine what would have happened if he'd tried to use defence only in his battle against Voldemort. It was Blast Burn, an attack of immense power, that had saved him and allowed him to escape. If Umbridge had been teaching him last year there would have been a good chance he wouldn't have made it out alive.


	10. The Keeper

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

If there was any doubt that Umbridge was attempting to do everything but teach them it was removed by the time the next class came around, where they were instructed to read 'Chapter 2: Preparing a Defence'. Skimming through the chapters Harry wondered what Umbridge's plan was when they finished the book. So far with Hermione she had simply ignored her protestations that she'd already read it. In fact she took another ten points and Hermione wound up in detention for the second time in a week, Umbridge rather sickeningly declaring that this time she would be writing 'I will do as my professor instructs' until she was satisfied.

As the week wore on both Harry and Ron had a lot weighing down on them too. For Harry it was the usual, his concerns about the Ministry not believing him, his worry about what Voldemort was up to, and his still, as of yet, unexplainable jealousy of Ron. For Ron it was simpler. Quidditch tryouts were approaching.

"When are you guys heading out?" Hermione asked that Friday at dinner. She, unfortunately, had detention instead.

"Soon," Harry replied. He'd been keeping an eye on Angelina and as soon as she got up he'd know it was time to head off.

Hermione sighed. "Well, I'm off to deal with Umbridge," she told them crisply, standing up. "Good luck, Ron, and relax. You'll do great."

"Thanks, Hermione," Ron responded. "Good luck to you too." Hermione nodded briskly and strode from the hall.

"Amazing, isn't she," Ron muttered, watching Hermione go. "She must have spent at least six hours writing lines last time but she hasn't complained at all. She really is brilliant." Harry agreed, though he did have his doubts. While it was entirely possible Hermione was putting on a brave face to spare them from worrying about her when they had more than enough on their plates to worry about themselves Harry had to think there was another reason.

His thinking, which had grown over the complete lack of discipline Hermione had shown throughout the week with respect to Umbridge, was that Hermione was taking this personally. She didn't want to talk about it or complain, not because she didn't want them to worry, but because she wanted them to stay out of what she saw as her fight. Harry worried that this may only be the beginning. Hermione was surely not going to back down and from what he'd seen of Umbridge neither would she. This could end in catastrophe.

"Come on," he said, breaking himself from his worried thoughts. Angelina had slipped past in his inattention and around the hall many other Gryffindors, some on the team, others not, were rising to their feet and making their way out onto the grounds.

Ron looked surprised by his pronouncement, his eyes went wide, and Harry immediately knew that he was looking desperately to find a way out.

"Come on," Harry said, this time with some annoyance, taking a fistful of Ron's shirt and dragging the much larger boy to his feet, sending him stumbling up the aisle ahead of him.

Despite Harry's obvious attempts to force him onwards Ron was still searching for some sort of escape.

"You know what, maybe this year is too soon," he hedged, glancing over his shoulder anxiously to Harry. "I'll wait to next year. You know, then I can practice this year and be ready. And Fred and George will be leaving too, I reckon I'll make a better Beater than Keeper."

"Excellent plan," Harry told him evenly. "And you can put it in motion tomorrow. Right now we're going to tryouts and if you try and use one more excuse…"

"Hello Harry." Harry was brought short mid-lecture.

Cho Chang stood before him, looking just as pretty as she always did, which wouldn't be particularly unusual normally. Unfortunately this was the first time he'd come face to face with the Ravenclaw girl since her boyfriend, Cedric, had died. He found he didn't know what to say.

"Um, hi, Cho," he replied awkwardly. Beside him Ron looked rather taken aback too. At least he seemed to have forgotten about wimping out on Quidditch tryouts. "Um, how are you?" It was a terrible question.

"Oh, I'm fine," Cho answered quietly. "All things considering." An awkward silence fell between them.

"Well," Ron stepped in, his voice loud and forced normal as he took a hold of Harry's shoulder. "This was lovely and all but Harry and I have tryouts to get to." This took Cho by surprise.

"Oh," she said. "Are you trying out for the team then?"

"Don't be daft," Ron told her with a self-conscious laugh. Harry elbowed him in the ribs.

"So, yeah, we've got to go," Harry said awkwardly.

"Maybe I could go with you?" Cho suggested. "It might be nice to… talk."

"Um," Harry repeated. "I'm not sure Angelina would like that, I'm afraid." Cho's face fell.

"Oh." she looked disappointed. "Oh well, I understand. Another time then?"

"Yeah, sure," Harry agreed. A tug on his arm jerked him away and soon he found himself out on the grounds, Ron marching along beside him.

"Blimey, that was weird, wasn't it," Ron said. Harry shrugged. He couldn't really deny it, it was weird. "You should keep a watch out for that one, mate, I promise you."

They fell into peaceful silence as they crossed the grounds, heading towards the oval shaped stands that housed the Quidditch pitch. Up ahead Harry could make out some figures milling about the entrance, their encounter with Cho having delayed them quite severely.

"Oh no," Ron muttered and Harry glanced at him. His face was pale. "I can't do this."

"Of course you can," Harry told him tiredly. "It's just us. And what's the worst that can happen, you don't get in? That just means you can practice for next year."

Ron did not seem to be convinced at all but Harry wasn't in the mood to ply him with more encouragement. Now that his encounter with Cho was fading into the past he could feel himself start to relax. With every breath of fresh air he felt the burden of the week lift slightly and with every step he felt his anticipation grow. He could not wait to be out on the field with Talonflame once more.

Soon enough Harry and Ron made it to the stadium and, leaving Ron behind with the small group of other applicants, Harry ventured out to the centre of the field to where the rest of the team were huddled.

"Potter, what kept you?" Angelina barked out. Harry took her brusqueness in his stride.

"I bumped into Cho Chang in the Entrance Hall," he told her. "She took a bit of shaking." Angelina's eyes narrowed.

"What sort of questions was she asking, Potter?" she said briskly. "She's Seeker on the Ravenclaw team unless you've forgotten and it would be a damn reckless thing to do to give up valuable information so early in the season." Harry felt annoyed.

"Jesus, Angelina, her boyfriend just died," he couldn't help himself from blurting out. "Have some sympathy at least." Angelina flinched, but otherwise her expression didn't change. Then she turned away.

"Blimey, Harry, that was brave of you," Fred muttered as Angelina distracted herself talking to Alicia and Katie.

"Yeah, I though Angelina was going to eat you whole there," joked George. Harry just shrugged. Honestly he should have known better than to get Angelina mad at him so early in the year.

Fred shifted. His head was raised slightly and he seemed to be trying to discretely glance towards the new Keeper applicants. "So, you brought Ron then," he said warily.

"Yes," Harry replied simply.

"Do you know if he's any good?" Fred asked. He sounded doubtful.

"No," Harry answered simply. He had no idea how Ron would fare.

"Is that Machop he's using," George wondered, rising onto his tiptoes to get a good look. "A bit small, isn't he."

Harry frowned. "If he's not good enough he won't get in the team," he said shortly. "In the meantime the least you could do is give him some encouragement. He's already got enough doubt himself without you two adding to them." Fred and George looked a bit guilty.

Harry himself felt somewhat bad for chewing the twins out like that. For one thing he'd not wanted Ron to tryout, which made him a tad hypocritical, though in his case he'd worried that Ron would be too good and steal his limelight. Still, jealous or not Harry wasn't about to betray his friend on something that was obviously important to him.

"I feel bad now," George muttered dispiritedly. "I smeared his boots with Darumaka droppings." Noticeably the other applicants were giving Ron a bit of a wide berth. His face was bright red.

"Alright, lets start!" Angelina shouted, pulling everyone to attention. "Applicants form a line. You'll be trying out one at a time."

As the Gryffindor trialists started to cue up, battling for position near the front, Harry hurried forward and pulled Ron to the side, ignoring the now overwhelming smell of Darumaka droppings.

"Help me," Ron whispered desperately. He looked close to tears.

"Relax," Harry told him, his voice as firm and comforting as he could make it. "Just relax. Don't worry about anything else but the Quaffle. You've got Machop here, look," he gestured to where the fighting type was standing, steadfast and ready. "He's up for this and he's got your back. You've got his back, right?" Ron nodded. "Then good. I'll see you once it's over."

Harry couldn't guess as to how effective his spur of the moment pep talk had been but he did watch as Ron shuffled into place at the back of the cue, the boy in front making a face and holding his nose at the smell, much to the redhead's embarrassment.

"Not great conditions, is it," Katie commented, looking up at the darkening sky dispiritedly. It wasn't that late but already night was threatening to fall. Harry wondered if they'd even get to Ron in time to see him play.

"Good," Angelina said. "It'll be a proper test. We won't learn anything from perfect conditions." She raised her voice. "First applicant ready!"

The first student to try their luck was, surprisingly, Colin Creevey, looking absolutely tiny as he stood next to the goal posts. His Magneton, however, hovered up to a good height and waited patiently for the Chasers to attack.

The Quaffle was through the hoops before he could even blink. It seemed Angelina, Alicia and Katie, along with their Lopunny, Hitmonlee and Hitmontop, had lost none of their edge over the summer. The Keeper applicants were in for a long night.

Poor Colin Creevey was eventually asked to step aside after conceding another ten goals, only one shot being saved by the overpowered Magneton, before the next trialist stepped forward. He didn't fare any better.

Watching as student after student came before the goal posts and were defeated Harry turned his attention up to the castle. The Pokémon Battling Professor's office was visible to Harry, though only as a tiny pinprick of light against the great stone walls of Hogwarts, and Harry wondered how Hermione was doing. She would have wanted to be down here, cheering Ron on, and a bitter part of Harry wondered if Umbridge had known that when she'd scheduled the detention. The mere thought made Harry's insides burn.

It took several attempts before any of the potential trialists proved themselves capable of handling a match day Chaser combo and that was Cormac McLaggen, a sixth year boy who Harry vaguely remembered having battled, and defeated him, all the way back in second year. His Pokémon of choice then, Rhydon, was the one manning the goalposts and, much like Wood's Snorlax, it was proving itself to be faster than it looked. Faced with fifteen shots Rhydon saved eight of them and McLaggen walked off with a pleased expression on his face. As well he should be, no one matched that all the way through to the end, when Ron was finally called forward.

"Here we go," George murmured nervously as the three Chasers bared down on goal, passing the Quaffle with speed and accuracy betraying no tiredness. The Quaffle popped from Lopunny to Hitmonlee to Hitmontop before finally it found itself back with Lopunny who smacked it towards goal. Machop dived, and missed.

"Hey, that was close," Fred said, sounding impressed.

"Closer than expected," agreed George.

"Come on, Machop, you almost had it!" Ron shouted encouragingly as his Pokémon climbed back to his feet. The Quaffle came right back at him and he dived left, and again he very nearly got his finger tips to the ball. "You can do it!"

Seeing Ron shouting encouragements put Harry's mind at ease. Maybe Ron wouldn't get chosen, a third shot flew past Machop, but as long as he had the right mindset then it would be alright.

Then, in the sixth shot, Machop turned the tables.

"Yes! Great work, Machop!" Ron shouted enthusiastically as Machop clutched hold of the Quaffle, rolling along the ground with the ball firmly in his grip. Fred and George whooped. Well, no one could have reasonably expected them to be unbiased.

It was incredible, bringing a smile to Harry's face as he watched Machop climb back to his feet and toss the Quaffle back to the Chasers. Maybe the shot hadn't been hit as hard, Harry couldn't tell, but Machop had made up the distance and held on. That was something to be proud of.

"Keep going!" Ron encouraged.

And incredibly he did. A seventh shot was clutched tightly to his chest while an eighth was punched clear. A ninth was well place by Hitmonlee, faking Machop out and sending him the wrong way, but Machop responded with a tremendous flying save to get his fingertips to the tenth Quaffle and flick it onto the goalpost.

Four shots later and Ron was tied with McLaggen, each having saved eight of the Chasers' attempts. With one last shot remaining Ron had the chance to win it all.

Lopunny advanced forward, eyes focused and alert. Machop's ability to deny them had lit a fire in each of the three Chasers and they were determined not to be denied. Lopunny stopped on a sixpence, shaping as if to shoot and watching Machop for a flinch, before flicking the Quaffle up into the air. Hitmonlee leapt forward, foot at the ready, and extended it forward to smash the Quaffle towards the left hand goalpost. Machop dived, having avoided the feint, and flew to intercept it.

Machop and the Quaffle hung suspended in midair for a moment, before the Quaffle soared past his outstretched hand, ricocheting off the inside of the hoop as it passed through. Machop hit the ground with a thud and pushed himself onto his knees, looking incredibly disappointed.

"Alright, that's enough!" Angelina called, the three Chaser Pokémon hurrying back to where the team were standing waiting. "Huddle up."

The team closed ranks, forming a circle as they looked inwards, Fred and George casting furtive glances to make sure no one was listening in.

Angelina took charge.

"We obviously have two choices," she said with a no-nonsense attitude. "McLaggen and Weasley saved eight each, which is about as good as we could have hoped for. What's everyone thinking?"

"Ron's the obvious choice," Fred said immediately, George nodding along. "It's easy to see." Angelina rolled her eyes.

"I suppose there's no point asking you, Potter?" she challenged. Harry shook his head. "Very well. Alicia? Katie?"

"I'm torn," Alicia said quietly. "They are both really quite good. McLaggen is more consistent, I think, which is perhaps what we're looking for in a Keeper."

"But Weasley improved a lot over the course of the drill," Katie added. "McLaggen didn't really get any better or worse but Weasley managed to save nearly all of them by the end."

"Besides," she said, lowering her voice slightly and sending a nervous glance out the huddle. "I know Cormac personally and I don't think he's right for the team. He's very sure of himself, full of himself, even. I just think his ego might be too big. Ron…" Katie shrugged.

"You don't have to worry about Ron's ego," Harry told her. "He's got five older brothers who are all ridiculously successfully in their own ways." Fred and George shared a grin. "And if he did get too in love with himself you can count on me to put him right."

"Us too," Fred added.

"Alright then," Angelina said. "I believe we've reached a consensus but lets have a quick show of hands. Those in favour of Weasley?" Harry, Fred and George raised their hands immediately, Katie's not far behind them while Alicia raised hers with slightly more caution.

"Then it's unanimous," Angelina announced. "Good work team, I'll see you at practice."


	11. Educational Decree Number Twenty Three

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

"Congratulations!"

It was late, past midnight, when Hermione finally returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry and Ron having stayed up to surprise her with the good news.

"Thanks," Ron smiled, blushing slightly. "It was close though. I was really worried I wouldn't get in when Machop missed that last shot."

"We made the right choice," Harry said firmly. He was really proud of his friend and his earlier ill will towards Ron's fortunes at tryouts had evaporated, although leaving him no closer to discovering why it had bothered him so much.

"Well, I hope so," Ron said uncertainly. "It'll be more difficult in an actual game, there'll be the Beaters to worry about as well."

"I'm sure you'll do great," Hermione told him. Then she winced. Her wrist had knocked against the arm of her chair.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked worriedly, eyeing her with a cautious expression.

"Of course," Hermione said brusquely.

"You're lying," Harry told her. There was no use her denying it. "Come on, Hermione, look at you. You're exhausted and I know your wrist must be killing you."

"So what do you suggest?" Hermione said hotly. "That I not turn up for detention?"

"I'm saying you should stop getting into arguments with Umbridge," Harry told her. It really wasn't helping anyone.

"Excuse me, Harry, but I'll decide who I argue with and about what," Hermione said harshly. "You do not own me. I am allowed to make my own decisions."

"But," Harry said, but he got no further. With a small flash a Pokémon appeared, standing between the three of them, and they all instinctively fell back.

"Argh," Ron cried, his seat having completely overturned leaving him stuck with his bottom in the air. Harry himself was massaging his scalp where it had come into contact with the leg of a nearby table whilst Hermione was nursing her wrist, looking in a lot of pain.

The cause of the commotion revealed itself to be something not at all worth the over the top reaction. It was a Xatu, the Pokémon familiar to all three of them after all these years, and it was standing stock still, as they were used to.

"Is that…?" Hermione wondered. "The Sorting Xatu?" Harry shook his head. The Sorting Xatu was larger and, most importantly, held a powerful presence about itself, befitting a Pokémon that had been around since the age of the founders.

"Hey, that's Percy's," Ron exclaimed, having managed to crawl free and right his chair, sitting down and leaning forward interestedly. "What's he doing here?"

"He's got a letter," Harry pointed out. A plain white envelope was tied to Xatu's leg, though Xatu made no move to offer it to them. It did not move at all.

"What's Percy doing writing to me?" Ron wondered. "He never did it last year?"

"Maybe he's got something important to say," Hermione ventured. "Go on, Ron, open it." Ron reached out a hand and, when Xatu didn't respond, untied the letter from his leg. As soon as the letter was untied Xatu disappeared in a flash.

"Guess he wasn't waiting for a reply then," Harry muttered. He looked at Ron. "Go on, read it." Ron slit the envelope open and pulled out the letter, covered in very neat writing that was distinctly Percy's, before starting to read. As he did so a frown grew on his face. He read through the letter, then read through it again, then looked up.

"Oh, right," he said, just realising that Harry and Hermione were waiting for him to explain. "Listen to this. It's… something." He cleared his throat.

"Dear Ron," he read. "I hope that you are enjoying your first week back at Hogwarts and are not allowing the work to overwhelm you. A. are vastly important examinations that will have a great bearing on your future."

Harry frowned. This didn't sound even remotely interesting. But Ron continued.

"I write to you to make you aware of a very important piece of legislation passing through the Ministry at this moment, which will undoubtedly be in the morning paper. I'm sure by now you have made the acquaintance of Professor Umbridge, the Minister's Senior Undersecretary and now Pokémon Battling Professor. As of tomorrow she will be promoted to the post of Hogwarts High Inquisitor."

Harry and Hermione shared a look. High Inquisitor?

"I will not bore you with the details here, you most certainly will find out soon enough, but the basic fact is that Professor Umbridge will be granted new powers by the Ministry that outstrip any other teacher, with the exception of the Headmaster of course. It would be unwise to make an enemy of her at this juncture. All the best, Percy." Ron finished reading.

"You cannot argue with her," he said immediately. Hermione looked startled.

"You too?" she gasped.

"You can't do it, Hermione, she has too much power," Ron said. "We don't even know what she could do to you but I'm sure it'll be worse than lines. And how do you expect to do your homework without the use of your wrist."

"I'd find a way," Hermione said firmly. "But I refuse to silence myself when Umbridge expressly forbids questioning in her class in complete violation of her responsibilities as a teacher."

"She could have you expelled, Hermione," Ron pointed out, his voice rising. "What'll you do then, huh? What can you do if you're not here, with us?" Hermione's lip quivered.

"I can't just stay silent," she choked out. She looked on the verge of tears. "I can't. What Umbridge is doing is wrong and at the moment when we most need to learn to defend ourselves she is leaving us vulnerable by her unwillingness to teach. I can't stay quiet."

"You must," Ron said firmly. "You heard Percy. She is too powerful. You must stay quiet."

"There are other ways to resist," Harry murmured softly. "Not speaking up does not mean not doing anything. We'll still stand by the truth. We'll still convince everyone to learn to protect themselves. We just need to find another way."

Hermione looked so drained Harry just couldn't help but feel awful. He knew it wasn't his fault, knew that his advice was wise and that it would protect her from the worst of harm. But he knew Hermione could not act against her principles. She was too good for that. And telling her to do so was the worst thing Harry had ever asked of her.

* * *

Just as Percy had predicted the news broke the next morning. Many people in Hogwarts had the Daily Prophet, the nation's leading newspaper, delivered to them, and it took only a few minutes for everyone in the Great Hall to see the headline adorning the front page of the Saturday edition.

DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED HOGWARTS HIGH INQUISITOR

Below was a copy of the legislation that made it so.

 **Educational Decree Number Twenty Three**

 _The position of High Inquisitor of Hogwarts will be established, with immediate effect, to address the lack of oversight over the school. Current Pokémon Battling Professor, Dolores Jane Umbridge, will take up this post with the blessing of the Ministry of Pokémon. Professor Umbridge, in her duties as Hogwarts High Inquisitor, will have the power to inspect her fellow teachers and report back her findings to the Ministry to ensure the standard of education at Hogwarts remains high and in keeping with the expectations of those who entrust their children to it._

"As if it wasn't bad enough that we had to have Pokémon Battling with her now she's going to be sitting in on all our other classes," Ron complained.

"I can't believe they have done this," Hermione said, ignoring Ron. "They won't get away with it. People will see this is just a blatant power grab."

"How do you mean?" Harry asked.

"It's just another way to make Dumbledore less powerful, isn't it," Hermione huffed. "The power to inspect her fellow teachers and report back to ensure the standard… oh, she'll do that alright, but she'll only be measuring on the standard the Ministry want; loyalty."

"You think she's going to go after Dumbledore's supporters at Hogwarts?" Ron worried. "Like McGonagall and Flitwick."

"I doubt she could, though I wouldn't put it past her to try," Hermione told him. "McGonagall and Flitwick are great teachers and thousands of people can attest to that. I'm more worried about people like Hagrid. He's only been in the job a couple of years and everyone knows he's loyal to Dumbledore, right to the very end. And Snape too."

"Snape?" Harry said sharply.

"Is loyal to Dumbledore," Hermione pointed out. "And nowhere near as popular as McGonagall or Flitwick. Think about what would happen if the Ministry targeted him. He could get fired, and then what would happen. What would it mean for the Legion if Snape was no longer at Hogwarts? Would You-know-who even bother keeping him around? Would his usefulness be over if he wasn't in a prime position to spy on Dumbledore? Who knows what would happen to him if he lost his job here."

It was a chilling thought. Dumbledore had once impinged on Harry just how much Snape was putting himself at risk in his role in the war. As a spy and double agent he was putting himself in the line of fire of both sides, and now possibly a third as well. And if Voldemort felt that Snape had served his purpose there would be no doubt that he'd look to finish him off. Barty Crouch was proof of that.

"He'll be fine," Ron said. "He's a good actor, Snape. I bet he'll say something sarcastic and insult Harry's potions grades and he'll be Umbridge's new best friend. Umbridge isn't going to get the better of Snape."

It was a good point Ron made but a worrying one at that as it foreshadowed a pretty horrible truth about the situation they were in. The Ministry held all the cards and to an extent there was nothing Harry, Ron and Hermione could do but put their faith in people like Snape and Dumbledore and McGonagall and hope that somewhere along the line things would change for the better.

For the time being things were looking rather bleak. As the weeks passed the effects of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three became clear. From Harry's brief conversations with Hagrid he learned that Umbridge had watched several of his classes already, lending credit to Hermione's theory, while they saw first hand Umbridge inspect classes by Flitwick and Trelawney, though Umbridge had yet to brave the lion's den that was McGonagall's Pokémon Physiology classroom. She had yet, apparently, to visit Professor Snape's dungeon either, which was interesting in a completely different way.

Yet for all that Umbridge was making her presence known around the school in ways that worried those that did not buy the idea that the Ministry was working in their best interests she had yet to do more than watch and take note, an irritating yet so far harmless pest in the corner.

She did not show as much restraint in her own class. In fact she seemed to be on a mission to make their time in her classroom as painful and unproductive as possible, and Hermione was taking the brunt of it.

She'd kept her mouth shut since that first week, biting her tongue and keeping her head down as her rational mind told her that Harry's and Ron's words of caution were wise. And Umbridge was delighted. She took great pride in starting every class with a pointed look to Hermione as she set them to the task of reading the latest chapter of Wilbert Slinkhard's book and on more than one occasion did she stop the class fully to question Hermione on what she had read, Hermione forced to do nothing more than say exactly what Umbridge wanted to hear.

It was after one of these lessons, where Umbridge had grilled Hermione for fifteen minutes on the benefits of using Protect in the face of an attack, that Harry felt things had reached rock bottom.

"That bloody, foul, Slugma-headed, toad-faced…" Ron's anger pushed him beyond articulation and he was left mouthing wordless obscenities as they left Umbridge's class behind them for a blessed few days relief.

"Forget it," Hermione said tiredly. She was mentally exhausted. "Just… don't talk about it." Ron fell silent, though his anger was now replaced with concern as he glanced at Hermione, perhaps wondering whether he dared risk trying to talk to her. Harry decided it wasn't a good idea and shook his head discretely, Ron heeding his advice with some relief as they headed down the stairs towards the Great Hall in silence. Harry revelled in it. It felt like he hadn't had the chance to think since he'd arrived.

"Guys, I think I'm going to head to the Hospital Wing," he announced. Ron looked at him as if he was crazy. Hermione, however, looked somewhat resigned.

"I knew this would happen," she told him, a small smile tugging at her lips as she shook her head at him with fond exasperation. "You just can't stay away, can you?"

What she was talking about, the resident of the Hospital Wing he was going to visit, was the mysterious Pokémon egg he'd delivered nearly three weeks ago. Despite the time that had passed Harry had yet to visit, though he'd always planned to. But between Quidditch and Umbridge and the increased workload that was being heaped on the A.P.E students he hadn't found time.

"You can come too," Harry offered. It felt weird. It wasn't like he had any claim over the egg to decided who was and was not allowed to see it.

"We'll leave you to it," Hermione smiled, putting a hand on Ron's arm to guide him in the direction of the Great Hall, not that he needed much convincing. "But don't be too late or you'll miss lunch."

Harry took that as a warning, a reminder that time was limited, and he quickly hurried off towards the Hospital Wing, his feet finding the familiar route automatically and guiding him to the doors of the one place he usually hoped not to end up.

Madam Pomfrey was organising potions when Harry walked in, and when she saw him she put her hands on her waist, a stern expression on her face.

"Mr Potter," she said crisply, putting down her potions and striding towards him. "Are you hurt?"

"No," Harry replied.

"Are your Pokémon hurt?" Madam Pomfrey pressed. Harry shook his head. "Then why are you here?"

Harry shifted slightly under her stare. Pomfrey, like McGonagall, had a knack for making you feel like you'd done something wrong.

"I just want to visit, alright," he said eventually, giving up all pretences that he was there for anything else. "I just want to see how it's doing."

"It is doing perfectly well, Potter," Madam Pomfrey said crisply. "And now that you know that you can leave."

"Can I see it?" Harry asked. "Please?"

"It is an egg, Mr Potter," Madam Pomfrey told him, thoroughly annoyed. "It is round and brown and looks exactly the same as it did when you first brought it to me."

"But what if it's about to hatch?" Harry queried.

"When that is the case I'll let you know," Madam Pomfrey told him. "But until then unless you have a valid medical problem then I will have to ask you to leave." Harry thought quickly.

"My arm hurts," he said. Madam Pomfrey raised an eyebrow but nevertheless her professional training kicked in.

"Have you been in any accidents recently?" she asked him. Harry shook his head.

"I slept funny on it, though," he told her. "And the blood feels all weird. I think I probably need an overnight stay in the Hospital Wing."

"That sounds very unlikely," Madam Pomfrey told him. "Even for you, Potter."

"But it really hurts," Harry tried to persuade her. "There's like this aching feeling and then it gets really bad when I move my arm like this…"

"Then don't do that then."

"Hem, hem." A small, very fake cough broke up Harry and Pomfrey's argument and they turned to the door to find Professor Umbridge staring at them, smiling sweetly, her eyes narrowed.

"Yes, Professor Umbridge," Madam Pomfrey said, recovering first. "What can I do for you?" Umbridge, for whatever reason, let out a giggle.

"Oh no, I was just passing by," she said, though her eyes told a different story. "But I must wonder as to what Mr Potter is doing here. I would have thought he'd be in the Great Hall with all the other students." Her smile was growing sickly.

"Mr Potter is here for medical reasons," Madam Pomfrey answered swiftly. Harry was surprised. He hadn't expected Madam Pomfrey to be so willing to lie for him. It was either a mark of how much she actually cared for Harry, or how much she loathed Umbridge.

"And what exactly is the nature of this… condition?" Umbridge asked sweetly, though her eyes were like lasers, burning into Harry with barely suppressed glee. Oh how much she would want to uncover some deep, dark illness Harry was hiding. She'd be hailed above all others at Fudge's Ministry.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," Madam Pomfrey told her strictly. "I am under oath not to reveal details about my patients' health, and you, Professor Umbridge, do not have the authority to receive that information."

Umbridge's face turned sour and Harry had to marvel at Madam Pomfrey's balls. Reminding Umbridge that she was, in fact, still not as powerful as others, in particular Dumbledore, would hurt her in a way little else would.

"Now, Potter," Madam Pomfrey said, turning to him in a business-like fashion. "I say we should leave your arm for a day and see if it feels better tomorrow. If it still feels sore then feel free to come back and I'll have another look."

Harry recognised a dismissal when he saw one, though again he marvelled at the ease with which Madam Pomfrey had lied, and how believable it had sounded. He hurried from the room, passing Umbridge who still looked like she'd swallowed something sour.

As he walked along the corridor, heading back towards the Great Hall, he looked back over his shoulder. Umbridge had not followed him. She was talking to Madam Pomfrey, about what Harry couldn't hear, but he didn't have a good feeling about it.

His suspicions were backed up after he explained everything that had happened to Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table. They both agreed something was up.

"Do you reckon she's ill?" Ron asked, somewhat hopefully. Harry shook his head.

"It wasn't like that," he told him. "It wasn't like she was asking for Madam Pomfrey's help. It was more like she was demanding something or looking for something that Madam Pomfrey had."

"Do you know if she gave it to her?" Ron asked. Harry shook his head.

"Well, let's hope not," Hermione said. "Madam Pomfrey is smart and from the sounds of it she doesn't trust Umbridge any more than we do."

"Which is saying something?" Ron interjected.

"Still," Hermione chewed her lip. "I wonder what Madam Pomfrey could have that Umbridge would want. A special potion of some sort. Or records."

"Well, we know one thing that Pomfrey has," Ron said, shooting a meaningful look at the other two. Hermione gasped.

"How could I have been so stupid," she said aloud, clasping a hand to her forehead and looking positively dumbstruck. "It all fits. Of course Umbridge would want it."

Harry was confused and Ron, despite having prompted this outburst, frowned.

"Sorry, what?" he asked. "Are we talking about the same thing?"

"The egg," Hermione confirmed. Ron nodded.

"You think Umbridge wants the egg?" Harry said. "But why?"

"Well, you have to try and look at things from an outsider's point of view," Hermione stated. "Forget everything you know about the egg and think on only what Umbridge knows. Harry Potter, Dumbledore's protégé, brings an egg to Hogwarts for Madam Pomfrey to look after. No one knows where it's come from or what it'll hatch into or when, but you know Harry Potter and, by proxy, Professor Dumbledore care about it. What would you think?" She looked expectantly at the other two.

"Err," Ron said. "I don't know. It's powerful, I guess. If Dumbledore has something to do with it it's probably a legendary egg or something. I mean, it can't just be a Rattata egg. Nothing around Harry is that straight forward."

How true that was, Harry thought, but it seemed like Ron had said exactly what Hermione had been hoping for.

"Exactly," she said, sounding excited. "You think it must be a powerful Pokémon that hatches from this and if you believe that Dumbledore is trying to raise an army, like Percy said, then…" It all made sense.

"Blimey," Ron muttered. "She wants the egg for herself."

"We should go," Harry said, moving to stand up. "I don't know how strong Umbridge is but there's always a chance she can beat Pomfrey one on one. Who knows how far she could have gotten by now."

"Harry, relax," Hermione scolded, looking up at him with the sort of expression that said he was being really stupid. "She's not going to just steal the egg, she wouldn't get away with that. No, what I think she's doing is much worse." Harry sank back into his seat, sharing an anxious look with Ron. Worse?

"I'm listening," he said tightly. Hermione sighed.

"It's a well known phenomenon that Pokémon, when they hatch from eggs, consider the first living being they see to be their mother," Hermione said. "Or at least their parental figure in cases where Pokémon mate for life. Anyway, we know from Sirius that Pokémon don't see right and wrong the same way people do. If a Pokémon is loyal to you it will do anything for you, even things that we'd consider plain wrong."

"Like Gallade breaking Sirius out of Azkaban," Ron said. "Gallade didn't know he was innocent but he broke him out anyway, because he was loyal."

"And it's the same for Peter Pettigrew's Forretress," Hermione said. "Killing itself on his command. And Lily Potter's Electrode…" she tailed off sadly.

Harry shrugged it off. "So what you're saying is Umbridge wants to be the mummy," he summed up. "If she can get the Pokémon's loyalty…"

"A possibly legendary Pokémon's loyalty," Ron added.

"Then she'd essentially be able to control it," Harry finished. "It would do whatever she says, so long as it sees her first." There was a moment's pause.

"Blimey," Ron let out a huge breath, eyes wide. "We can't let that happen."

"Agreed," Hermione said.

"But what can we do?" Ron wondered. "Apart from posting a guard to make sure that someone else is always there to be the first thing it sees when it hatches…"

"Madam Pomfrey did say she'd let me know when it is about to hatch," Harry said. "And she will be there practically all the time so maybe…" he trailed off. It was a small hope. In fact, it didn't even feel like they had any hope at all.

Ron growled.

"We've got to do something," he said angrily. "We've got to stop her, somehow. Umbridge is getting way too powerful and we can't just hope that Dumbledore or McGonagall are going to do something or that You-know-who will be nice enough to show his snake face and convince everyone 'oops, maybe that Potter kid was right all along'. We've got to do something." Harry sighed.

"But what?" he asked dispiritedly. "You said it yourself, Umbridge is too powerful. If we try anything we'll probably end up expelled and even if Dumbledore is able to stop that how long will it be before he's ousted too. Lets just face the facts, we're stuck here, at least until someone makes a move."

"But why can't it be us," Hermione said, her eyes wide with excitement. "If Dumbledore can't do anything and we can't do anything to protest then why not do something in secret."

"Hermione?" Ron questioned. Hermione just shook him off.

"I've got an idea," she said hurriedly. "But not here. Meet me in the Common Room at midnight. We're not through yet."


	12. Hermione's Plan

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Hermione didn't perhaps think that through when she said it as the three of them barely left each others' side for the rest of the day, first going to their afternoon classes, then to dinner, and then up to the Common Room to get started on some of the homework they'd been given earlier. As it happened by the time midnight came round Harry and Ron only had stopped asking what Hermione was talking about because they'd grown bored of it.

They were brought back to attention, however, when Hermione closed her Pokémon Physiology textbook decisively and looked up at them.

"Well," she said, her voice slightly breathy in excitement. "Are you ready?" Harry and Ron shared a look.

"Ready for what?" Ron asked. "I've got to say, even for you this is getting a bit ridiculous." Hermione ignored that comment.

"I told you I've got an idea but it's not quite finished, so hear me out," she told them. "So, I was thinking of ways in which we can push back against Umbridge."

"Right," Ron said encouragingly.

"And my first thought was to prank her somehow."

"Prank her?" Harry cut in, barely holding in his incredulity. "You?"

"Then I realised that Fred and George are much more qualified to do that than we are," Hermione finished as though Harry had not said a word. "Undoubtedly they'll start soon. They can't be happy with the way things are going either."

"Can't wait," Ron told Harry with a grin.

"So, anyway, I decided to think of something else," Hermione said. "Something that we could do, the three of us, that other people might not be able to. So I thought about what our strengths are…"

"You're going to start a study club, aren't you," Ron said warily. It did seem to be where she was going with this and her slight hesitation more or less confirmed it.

"Not exactly," she admitted. "Though from the outside it might look it. I was more thinking about how we're not learning from Umbridge."

"Agreed," Harry said, sharing a glance with Ron. "Umbridge is clearly useless."

"And deliberately so," Hermione agreed. "Although I doubt she'd be a good teacher even if she tried. See, what I was thinking is that we get ourselves our own Pokémon Battling Professor, an instructor, even."

"Like Lupin?" Ron said interestedly. Harry perked up too. The idea of being taught by Remus again was brilliant. Hermione chewed her lip.

"Actually I was thinking more along the lines of Mad-Eye Moody in terms of teaching," she admitted. "Professor Lupin was a very good teacher, don't get me wrong, but in Professor Moody's class we learned a lot more about actually battling, which is what we really need right now with the Death Eaters on the loose."

"But Hermione," Harry spoke up, pointing out the very obvious flaw in her plan. "Mad-Eye is busy with the Legion. He specifically quit Umbridge's job to focus on helping fight Voldemort." Ron and Hermione shuddered slightly at the mention of the name.

Hermione recovered first.

"I know that, Harry, which is why I scrapped that idea too," she told him. "But theoretically it would be brilliant, wouldn't it. We could actually learn something, shove it in Umbridge's face, and we could invite others who want to learn along too. That way we won't be so unprepared when You-know-who does show himself."

"But without a teacher…" Harry pointed out. Hermione looked nervous.

"I have a few ideas," she admitted, though her uncomfortable countenance set Harry on edge. "Obviously people like Tonks and Kingsley are out since they already have full time jobs on top of working for the Legion. The teachers are out too, and anyone who doesn't have a reasonable excuse to actually be at Hogwarts."

"Doesn't that just leave us with Remus, then," Harry questioned. He didn't have a particularly good reason to be at Hogwarts but he was a former professor and about as close a relation to Harry as he had barring Sirius, who everyone still believed to be a mass murderer.

"There is one person I think would work," Hermione said hesitantly. "If they would agree to it." She chewed her lip anxiously.

"Spit it out, Hermione," Ron told her, looking like he was losing his patience with the roundabout way their conversation was progressing. Hermione was very much dancing around the subject.

For that matter she did look incredibly nervous, the sort of nervous Harry would usually associate with end of year exams. She was clutching her hands together unusually tightly in her lap and seemed to be trying to avoid eye contact.

"Well, isn't it obvious," she said weakly. "It's you." And she looked up and looked right at Harry.

Ron roared with laughter.

"Seriously," he guffawed, clutching onto the arm of his chair as though he was about to fall off it. "That's your big idea? How on earth did you come up with that?" He didn't seem to be looking for an answer though. In fact, it seemed he was doing his best just to breath through his unstoppable laughter.

Harry was maybe a second away from joining Ron's reaction but the fact that Ron got there first stopped him in his tracks. For some reason, and Harry had a sinking feeling at the thought, the sound of Ron's laughter at the very idea of Harry teaching made him angry. He was right, of course, but… was he? Harry had faced a lot in his young life and, while most of his survival came down to luck and his Pokémon bailing him out, he had navigated his way through multiple life threatening situations without serious harm. The fact that Ron didn't seem to be acknowledging that, that it somehow meant nothing, that his survival was purely luck and had nothing to do with Harry's own abilities, drove Harry to speak.

"What were you thinking?" he asked quietly. Ron fell silent very suddenly.

"You teach us how to survive," Hermione said quickly. She looked surprised that he was willing to hear her out but was jumping at the opportunity nevertheless. "You know better than anyone what it's like to deal with the Death Eaters and You-know-who."

Damn right he did, thought Harry.

"Wait, wait, hold up," Ron said, all traces of humour gone. "Are we seriously considering this?"

"Why not?" Harry asked blandly. It was Ron who looked uncomfortable now.

"Well, now don't take this the wrong way, Harry," he said quickly. "You are very powerful, certainly more powerful than us. But you're fifteen."

"Voldemort was sixteen when he first opened the Chamber of Secrets," Harry pointed out. "Didn't stop him."

Ron flinched at the mention of Voldemort's name but it seemed his need to talk Harry out of it was more important than his hammered-in habits.

"You-know-who was crazy, and evil, and he had a centuries old Seviper," Ron pointed out. "You don't have that. Charizard is strong but not that strong." The three of them fell silent.

"I'm not saying I'm agreeing," Harry said, directing his words towards Hermione. "I'm not going to hold classes and set homework or anything stupid like that. I wouldn't know how to."

"Then what…?" Hermione questioned.

"A battle club," Harry said simply. "The best way to learn to fight is to practice. Reading books won't do it, if it did you wouldn't have approached me in the first place." Hermione nodded. It seemed that she'd come to this conclusion herself.

"I won't be able to teach you," Harry said, focusing his words on both his friends. "Surviving isn't something you can just get right. Besides, there are loads of people in this school who know more about Pokémon than me." Arguably he was sitting beside two of them. "But I want to fight. And anything that allows us to do it without Umbridge sticking her nose in is something I want to be a part of. Don't tell me you don't want that too."

Neither Ron nor Hermione denied him. Indeed, in their own ways they looked excited. For Hermione the look was satisfaction, glad that her plan was actually going to go somewhere now that she had her friend's backing. For Ron it was anticipation. Hearing Harry's take on the matter he was well on board.

Hermione let out a breath.

"Well, I suppose we should get planning then," she said and she pulled out a sheet of paper, notes already scribbled on it. When she'd had time to write those notes when she'd been with Harry and Ron from the moment she'd had her idea was a mystery to the two boys but they did not question it.

"I was thinking at first that it would just be the three of us," Hermione began, comfortably settling into her usual speech pattern. "But then I realised this could benefit everyone. I know Fred and George and Ginny will all want to be part of this and then there is Dean and Seamus and Neville and Luna. I imagine Parvati and Lavender will want in as well."

As Hermione rattled off name after name Harry started to feel as though he'd made quite a monumental mistake. His decision had been rash, made in the heat of the moment, and now he'd committed himself to Hermione's plan.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye Harry wondered about the catalyst for his decision. Undoubtedly Ron laughing had pushed him to do it but why should that be the case? It couldn't be jealousy, or at least not simply jealousy. All Harry could think, as Hermione did a detailed breakdown of the fifth year Ravenclaws, was that he couldn't stand the idea of Ron not recognising what he could do. And he realised this wasn't the first time that that motivation had prompted him to make a rash decision. It was the reason he had competed in the Tri-Pokémon Tournament. Could it really be that simple? Could it really be that he just wanted people to recognise him for his skills. If so, and he strongly suspected it was, how was he to fix it?

* * *

Hermione did not mention her idea again to Harry but that's not to say he didn't hear about it. Though he tried to keep his head down and ignore his friend's machinations he couldn't help but notice when she peeled off to talk with some student at the Hufflepuff table or when she did not appear from her Ancient Runes class for another ten minutes after everyone else, Anthony Goldstein suspiciously late too.

And it all was boiling down to October the fifth, the day of the first Hogsmeade weekend and the first time since school had started that they would be able to get out from under Umbridge's watchful eye.

"Ah, that's the stuff," Ron muttered as he stretched to the extent his body could manage, eyes closed as the morning sun shone on his face. "So good to get out of there."

They were walking down the great Hogwarts front lawn and, technically, hadn't got out of anywhere yet, though even walking towards the gates of Hogwarts gave them a sense of freedom that the castle just couldn't provide.

The walk also gave them the opportunity to give their Pokémon some fresh air, something they'd severely lacked with the absence of practical lessons in Pokémon Battling. Arcanine lolled around in front of them, enjoying being able to stretch his legs fully as Talonflame and Noctowl glided overhead. Torkoal was walking calmly by Ron's heel and Pikachu was perched up on Harry's shoulder.

"It is good to get some time away from school," Hermione said. Of course she meant away from Umbridge, Hermione loved school more than anything, but the sentiment was still the same. "Although I do wish I could get that essay for Professor McGonagall done today."

"Homework? On a day like this?" Dean Thomas was walking behind them, one hand clutched in Parvati's as they walked down to Hogsmeade together, Seamus and Lavender straggling behind them. "You need to relax more."

"It is Hermione," Ron pointed out, smirking as he threw a sidelong glance at the blushing brunette. Dean snorted.

"True," he admitted. "But you've got to enjoy yourself once in a while. Stay inside too long and you'll start to look like one of those pasty Ravenclaw nerds."

"My sister's in Ravenclaw," Parvati pointed out, giving Dean a testing look. Dean shrugged it off.

"Yeah, I don't really get that," he said, either not reading or, more likely, ignoring the warning look and changing the subject. "I mean, you are identical twins. It's weird that you're in different houses. Though I suppose it makes sense that you came to Gryffindor. We only take the best here." Parvati blushed prettily and leaned in to whisper with Dean. Soon enough the two of them had completely forgotten about their company and were lost in their own little world.

"Sweet talker, ain't he," Seamus muttered as he fell into stride with Harry.

"Must have got it from you," Harry told him. A grin turned the corner of Seamus's mouth.

"'Course," he told him. "But, you know, I was teaching him how to play the field, not to just fall for the first pretty girl to bat her eyelashes - ow!" Lavender had flicked his ear.

"I think they're cute together," Hermione said, as though backing up Lavender's response. "And I think a good girl might help curb your attitude, Seamus." Seamus grumbled.

"Alright," he muttered, cowed by the two girls and sensibly noting he wasn't going to be getting away with anything in their presence. "Ah well, there's always Creevey to corrupt. Anyway, I'll be seein' you lot later." And he left, following after the love struck Dean and Parvati with Lavender following behind him.

"Poor bloke," Ron muttered, shaking his head as he watched them go. "Third wheeling is bad enough but third wheeling with Lavender…" he made a face.

"What happened with Seamus and Lavender anyway?" Harry wondered. Last he recalled they had seemed almost destined to go to the Yule Ball together, only to not, in the end, for reasons Harry couldn't begin to comprehend.

Hermione, the most likely to have an answer, chewed her lip.

"It's complicated," she said eventually, which meant absolutely nothing to Harry. "You know there are feelings all over the place and there's hurt and… I really can't say any more. I can't betray Lavender's confidence." And she walked on, Harry and Ron sharing confused looks behind her back.

* * *

Hogsmeade was a picturesque little village which, by most measures, wasn't particularly different from many others. What did set it apart was its location, right by the gates of Hogwarts, and by the fact that Pokémon were freely accepted everywhere.

Harry had visited Hogsmeade only a few times before, having not had his permission slip signed for until his godfather had revealed himself. Speaking of his godfather…

The Shrieking Shack was their first stop upon arriving in the village. The shack, a boarded up ruin that was said to be haunted, was where the three of them had first come face to face, properly, with Sirius Black. It was there they had learned the truth about what had happened in the aftermath of the night Harry's parents had died and that the true traitor had been with them all along, Peter Pettigrew, in the form of Scabbers the Rattata.

And it was where they stood now that they had been visited, almost exactly a year ago, by Sirius's Mightyena as he'd scared off Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle and led them to where Sirius was hiding up in the mountains. Despite the risk of Sirius showing himself so close to Hogwarts it was in hope that he would do this again that Harry had led his two friends to this spot.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, they were left alone.

"We should go," Hermione whispered. She and Ron had been quiet for a while, understanding without needing to be told what they were there for. "The others will be expecting us."

Harry reluctantly accepted the truth she had not said, that Sirius was not coming, and allowed her to lead him back towards the village proper, though not without an added weight on his chest.

The route out to the Shrieking Shack was an unusual one which took the students through the more rundown part of Hogsmeade. It was far from terrible, after all children wouldn't be allowed to wander around anywhere where they might be in danger, but the shops around this end of Hogsmeade were altogether grottier and ill-kept. As they passed the bartender of the Hogs Head tossed his bins out to the street, a Gogoat loyally standing by his side. As many in the Pokémon world did the elderly man did a double take at seeing Harry but soon enough he left them to it. He had a tavern to run, after all, and it was hard enough to get custom ahead of the Three Broomsticks as it was.

The Three Broomsticks, of course, being their destination of choice as they headed straight into the heart of Hogsmeade. They passed Zonkos joke shop and Honeydukes sweet shop, each packed with students, and pushed their way into the famous tavern, the busiest place of the lot.

"Excuse me, excuse me," Hermione said somewhat helplessly as she tried to navigate through the multitude of bodies that filled the establishment.

"Move it," Ron growled, taking the lead and carving out a path with his much larger frame for Harry and a very relieved Hermione to follow. That was all the way up to the bar, though, where Ron came to a dead halt, his face going red. Hermione, rolling her eyes, took the lead.

"Madam Rosmerta," she said, catching the woman's attention as she paused between filling drinks.

Madam Rosmerta, a buxom woman with a friendly demeanour and subject of many teenage boys' fantasies, was the barmaid at the Three Broomsticks and she immediately hurried over to them.

"Straight upstairs," she told them quickly, glancing around furtively. "I've got you covered."

"Thank you," Hermione said gratefully. Madam Rosmerta tutted.

"Don't mention it, I couldn't agree more with what you're doing," she told the girl. "That woman is such a menace. Making her teacher and on top of that High Inquisitor? Well, someone certainly has a screw loose and I'm glad some people are doing something about it." She beckoned them up the staircase. "First floor, first door on the left." And she left them to it.

"What did you tell her?" Harry hissed as soon as Madam Rosmerta was out of sight. "I thought we were trying to keep things quiet."

"We are, but I had to tell her something," Hermione said anxiously. "I needed the room and she was always going to ask questions. I think with her help we'll be much better off than without it." She opened the first door on the left as they reached the first floor landing. "And I didn't tell her anything anyway, just that we were trying to do something about Umbridge's appalling standard of teaching."

Harry wasn't convinced, though he had to admit he was glad that Rosmerta appeared to be on their side, but he chose not to fight that battle, instead turning to survey the room.

Hermione had successfully managed to procure them a private parlour, no mean feet for a Hogwarts students who could only communicate via letter. The room was quite large, bigger than the parlours of the Leaky Cauldron in London, and it was altogether more comfortable with some nice squishy sofas and a crackling fire already set up in the grate.

"We should probably check this place out," Ron muttered nervously. "For bugs or something." It was a good point but Harry had to admit he wouldn't know where to start and, as it happened, he wouldn't have time to figure it out.

"There you are, we've been waiting for you." Fred and George had appeared in the doorway, the first to arrive at their little get together.

"We brought some butterbeer," George told them cheerfully, stepping through the doorway to reveal Lee Jordan, the commentator of Hogwarts Quidditch matches, trailing behind them. "Not many I'm afraid. Newcomers are going to have to get their own."

Harry gratefully accepted a bottle from Fred, taking a quick sip of the chilled drink. Liquid courage was what he needed, now that the time was drawing close. He just wondered how many people were actually going to turn up.

The answer, as it turned out, was loads. Neville and Luna appeared not long after Fred, George and Lee, followed by Seamus and Lavender, having ditched the happy couple some time ago. After that was the Quidditch girls, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie McMillan and some of his fellow Hufflepuffs and Anthony Goldstein and some Ravenclaws before, at last, Dean and Parvati made an appearance.

A couple of minutes later, in which time no one else appeared in the doorway, the final tally was confirmed as twenty-nine, including Harry, Ron and Hermione. They all looked at him expectantly.

"Hem, hem," Hermione said, accidentally mimicking one of Umbridge's most annoying habits. A trickle of laughter went around the room and Harry felt his heart lift slightly. This wouldn't be so bad after all, he thought. These were his friends, mostly, and those who weren't he at least recognised, even if he couldn't put a name to every face.

"Ah, yes, sorry about that," Hermione blushed nervously. "But I suppose I managed to get your attention so… anyway." She cleared her throat more firmly this time, looking out over the students. "I assume you all know why we're here."

"You're going to overthrow the Ministry, aren't you," a dark haired boy spoke up, seated between Anthony Goldstein and Ginny. A couple of people laughed.

"Well, not exactly," Hermione said. "But we can't say we agree with what the Ministry are doing, most significantly forcing Umbridge upon us."

"Here, here," Fred and George said together.

"That being said," Hermione continued, gaining heart from the positive response. "It is up to us to find an alternative as Professor Umbridge either cannot or will not teach us what we need to know."

"She has sound defensive theory," Anthony Goldstein spoke up.

"Only if you're hoping to stall them out," Ron countered. "You can't protect yourself with just defence. Your defences will break eventually and if you don't know anything else then you're a goner."

"That's right," said Hermione. "Which is why we've decided to do something about it. If Umbridge won't teach us then we'll learn on our own."

"How?" a voice sneered from the back of the room and everyone fell quite, turning to the source. "How are we going to learn? Who's going to teach us? Him?" The boy snorted, his eyes fixed firmly on Harry.

"Shut it, Smith," Ron told him but Zacharias Smith, fifth year Hufflepuff student, didn't pay him any attention.

"He's not even the strongest in the school," Smith complained. "He's never got into the final of the battling tournament. There's dozens of people I'd rather have teaching me."

"Then piss off," Ron snapped.

"Ron," Hermione said warningly.

"He's not even strongest in the _year_ ," Smith continued relentlessly. "What could he possibly teach us that'd be worth my time?"

And from this point the room descended into chaos. Ron, enraged, was standing up and yelling, his voice drowned out from the cacophony of people both agreeing with him and trying to get him to calm down. Smith was standing his ground bullishly, not backing down in the face of Ron's anger, while Hermione desperately tried to retain order amidst Fred and George's cries of "Egg him!"

"Everyone, please, calm down," she implored, her voice barely carrying across the room as she went completely ignored. Too many people were shouting, too many annoyed and angry, that they weren't going to listen to her even if they heard.

Harry had had enough. He stood up.

"Everyone, shut up!" He said loudly. The room quietened immediately, every eye turned to where he stood, waiting with bated breath. "Smith is right."

"Harry," Hermione moaned. This clearly wasn't what she'd been hoping for but Harry ignored her. He had something to say and he was going to say it, no matter what anyone thought.

"Smith is right," Harry repeated. "I am not the strongest trainer at this school. I doubt I'm even the strongest trainer in this room. And I can't teach any of you how to survive."

The room was silent as they watched him, no one, not even Zacharias Smith, daring to speak up and interrupt as he held their full attention.

"No one can teach you how to survive," Harry told them. "There is only one person that can stand toe to toe with Voldemort, and that's Dumbledore. For everyone else it's only a matter of time." A shiver went around the room, whether due to his utterance of Voldemort's name or the prospect of the hopelessness of their situation Harry didn't know.

"But you survived." It was Luna that spoke up, her wide protuberant eyes showing no concern about speaking up in front of so many people. Harry shifted.

"I was lucky," Harry told her.

"You seem to get lucky a lot," Luna commented, neither judging nor inferring.

"It wasn't luck when you stopped You-know-who in first year," Neville spoke up. "Even the teachers didn't know the Sacred Ash was in danger before you stopped him."

"Dumbledore stopped him," Harry corrected. "And even if I hadn't been there he would have known."

"He wasn't there to help you last year though, was he," Fred pointed out. "You were on your own then."

"I had Charizard," Harry explained. "He saved me."

"Oh, yes, of course, because your Pokemon have nothing to do with you at all," George said sarcastically. "It's not like you caught them and trained them and looked after them." Harry was starting to grow annoyed.

"Stop it," he said. "You're making it out as though I have some sort of ability I don't. Every time I've had to face Voldemort I've got lucky, or he's made some sort of mistake, and I always had help."

"You didn't have much help when you went down into the chamber," Ginny said quietly. The whole room was silent. "You walked in with only a Charmeleon, even though you knew it was a trap." She fixed him with a piercing look. Harry swallowed.

"I don't know how I survived," he said eventually, trying to find some way of convincing them without them objecting on principle. "Ninety-nine times out of a hundred in all those instances I would have died. And even if there is something special about me I don't know what it is, and I can't teach you."

"But we can still learn from you," Hermione spoke up. "By watching you we can learn how you do it. You don't have to know what you're teaching in order to teach it. All you need to do is be yourself. We'll learn. And we'll all be stronger for it."

She turned to the rest of the room.

"I've got a piece of paper," she said, placing it out on the small round table before her, a pen laying innocently beside it. "If you want to learn from Harry then sign your name here." For a minute nobody moved. Then Fred and George stood up.

"You know I'm in," Fred commented, signing his name with a flourish before passing the pen on to his twin, who did the same. "I see you two already have your names down. Confident, are you?"

Hermione nodded firmly.

Next up was Ginny, who signed her name with an almost determined expression, before holding out the pen expectantly to the Ravenclaw boy behind her who signed with a lot more hesitation.

Soon everyone was coming forward from the Ravenclaws, to the Quidditch girls, to Colin and Dennis Creevey, to the Hufflepuffs, with Zacharias Smith the last to sign, though he did so with a sour look on his face. It seemed Harry had a long way to go to convince him this was worth his time.


	13. The Clearing

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

With everyone's name scrawled across the piece of paper they retook their seats, Hermione carefully folding up the paper and placing it in her bag.

"You're going to keep that safe, right?" The Ravenclaw boy from earlier asked. Somewhere in Harry's mind he identified him as Michael Corner. "It wouldn't do for anyone to find it."

"What we're doing isn't against any school rules," Hermione pointed out, though she wasn't convincing anyone.

"Yet," Michael pointed out. "You know if anyone finds out what we're doing they're going to be after us." A ripple spread through the crowd, a few people muttering nervously. It was a worrying truth.

"I'll keep it safe," Hermione promised. "No one will see it but me, I guarantee it." She took a deep breath. "Anyway, now that we've all committed ourselves it is time to decide how we're going to do this. I was thinking we could meet a couple of times a week."

"As long as it doesn't clash with our Quidditch practice," Angelina said immediately.

"I'll do my best to avoid that," Hermione promised. "Although I think sometimes you might just have to make a decision. I see that the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team are here but for the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws you have to be careful not to arouse suspicion."

"None of us are on the Quidditch team," Ernie McMillan spoke up on his house mates' behalf.

"And I'm captain this year," Cho Chang said. "I can arrange the schedule however I want."

Hermione nodded in satisfaction. "Good, then I suppose we just need to worry about location."

"There's the Pokemon Battling Hall," Ernie pointed out.

"Which is right next to Umbridge's classroom," Fred reminded, rolling his eyes. "I think even she is smart enough to catch us if we're practicing right next door."

"I agree, we need to find a better place," Hermione said quickly, Ernie looking quite disappointed to be shot down so quickly. "I was thinking one of the battling fields."

"Not big enough," Angelina said. "Those are designed for at most a single double battle to take place at a time. Unless you want us to spend most of the time standing around watching we'll need more space."

"Plus it'll be easy for Umbridge to find us," Alicia spoke up quietly. "They're not very private."

Hermione took a breath. "Well, I've got nothing," she told them. "Anyone else got any ideas?" No one spoke. "Then I guess we'll call an end to the meeting then. If anyone thinks of anything then please let us know. In the meantime keep a low profile and don't say anything to anyone."

That was the signal for people to start leaving, which they did in groups of two or three, spaced out to try and help them blend in a bit with the Three Broomsticks clientele and avoid suspicion. Harry worried that it wouldn't be of much use, it was hard for so many students, particularly some as rumbustious as Fred and George, to stay inconspicuous.

"Well that went about as well as I thought it would," Hermione was saying as the last stragglers from the group awaited their turn to leave. "I honestly thought they'd need more persuading."

"Yeah, well, you didn't count on Harry, did you," Ron said with a grin, punching Harry's shoulder. "He can convince anyone of anything."

"That's not even close to true," Harry denied, thinking of the many people both inside Hogwarts and out that were currently not believing a word he said. Twenty-six people had joined them today, and in the grand scheme of things that was a very small proportion of the Hogwarts population. And these were the ones who actually knew him.

"Don't worry, Marietta, you go on ahead." Cho Chang was one of the last to leave, and it appeared she was trying to delay her departure even further. Her friend, Marietta, did not look happy with her. She whispered something, too quiet for Harry to hear, which made Cho look uncertain. She glanced from Marietta to Harry and then to Ron and Hermione before her face dropped. Ducking her head she followed her friend out the door.

"I wonder what that was about," Ron muttered, having noticed the situation too. "Weird." Hermione sighed.

"Only to you," she told him exasperatedly. "To most people it is incredibly obvious what is happening." Harry and Ron shared a look. Each were as lost as the other. Hermione sighed again.

"Cho wanted to talk to you, Harry," Hermione explained as the last of the group, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott, left, leaving them alone in the parlour. "She likes you."

"What?" Ron said in disbelief. Harry was glad he did, he wasn't sure he was capable of saying anything to that.

"Cho likes Harry," Hermione repeated. "She was hanging back hoping to talk to him, only with us here and not likely to leave she probably thought better of it, or at least her friend did. She's been trying to get Harry alone since term started."

That did ring a bell with Harry as his mind cast back to Quidditch tryouts. Cho had been quite interested in talking to him then, and Harry would have listened if it weren't for Ron and his cold feet. Had she tried again since?

"What does she want to talk about?" Harry asked. Hermione bit her lip.

"I'm not sure she really knows," she admitted. "Cho hasn't exactly been in the right frame of mind this year, not since Cedric… well, you know. She really liked him and so she's really upset."

"But what does that have to do with Harry?" Ron asked. "I mean, I'm sorry for her and everything but Harry doesn't really have anything to do with her."

"It's because she likes him, Ronald," Hermione bit out. "And she doesn't know how to deal with it. On the one hand she wants to talk to Harry, because that's what you do with people you like. On the other hand she feels guilty for, in her eyes, betraying Cedric and his memory. So not only is she sad and trying to get past it to live her life normally also her feelings about Harry, and the actual act of moving on, are making her feel even worse."

"So what should I do?" Harry wondered. He didn't really know how to deal with girls or relationships. The closest he'd got was taking Ginny to the Yule Ball, and that had been as friends.

"That's really up to you," Hermione told him, the worst possible advice. "If you like her then maybe you can try and talk to her and try to help her deal with Cedric."

"And if I don't?" Harry asked.

"Maybe you should still talk to her," Hermione said uncertainly. "Maybe you shouldn't. I don't really know. People are complicated and Cho's situation makes things even more difficult. Honestly I'm worried that any course of action will just hurt her more. But then ignoring her might be the worst of all."

Great, Harry thought, another thing to worry about. Immediately upon thinking that he felt bad. It wasn't Cho's fault, he could only imagine what she was going through. He just wished things were easier.

He shook his head. "What about Ginny and that Ravenclaw boy?" He wondered, turning to Hermione. "There was something weird there, when they were signing the paper."

"Well, it's not really weird when you think about it," Hermione explained. "Ginny was always going to have your back in this and it was unlikely she was going to expect anything less from her boyfriend."

"What?" Harry and Ron both said the same word but with very different intonations. Harry, mildly surprised, just hadn't realised Ginny was dating. Ron, on the other hand, looked furious.

"I probably shouldn't have told you," Hermione admitted, though this comment was aimed at Ron. "There's a good reason Ginny hasn't told any of her brothers."

"Yeah, but what about me?" Harry wondered. Maybe Ginny didn't trust him not to tell. The thought left him feeling disappointed.

As it happened Hermione had an excuse that was, perhaps, worse.

"I suppose it must have been because of her crush," Hermione told him. "I suppose there's still a part of her that isn't completely over you and so feels like she's cheating on you a bit by liking Michael."

"I hope not," Harry said honestly. "Ginny's been a lot more fun to hang around with since getting over that crush."

"Excuse me," Ron burst out as Hermione nodded in agreement. "I think we're skipping over a very important part here."

"Oh, for goodness sake, Ron," Hermione snapped. "She's fourteen years old, she's allowed a boyfriend. And, for that matter, she's perfectly within her rights to keep it quiet from whoever she sees fit."

"Yeah, but Corner," Ron grouched. "Slimy git, isn't he. You heard him earlier, questioning Harry…"

"That was Zacharias Smith," Hermione pointed out waspishly. "Michael, on the other hand, only displayed concerns over the privacy of members, a valid concern considering the repercussions of getting caught."

Ron grumbled as Hermione turned smartly away from him, heading out the door. Harry doubted he'd ever be alright with someone dating Ginny, it just wasn't something he could do. As far as Harry knew Ron didn't have any opinion of Michael Corner until today.

Meanwhile Harry had his own concerns. Cho Chang, someone Harry would have even stretched to calling a friend towards the end of last year. She liked him, at least according to Hermione, and Harry couldn't deny he found her to be pretty. She was. But he couldn't even think of ever being in a relationship with her, not without a twisting in his stomach.

She was Cedric's girl, a voice spoke in Harry's head. Cedric's. And if Harry could not have protected Cedric when they'd been teleported to the graveyard then the least he could do is not take his girl.

But Cedric would want him to make sure she was alright, Harry knew. Cedric truly cared about her. And so Harry made a silent promise to himself to keep an eye out for Cho Chang. He may not want to be with her but if he could he was going to make sure she was happy.

Even as he thought this it seemed a daunting task.

* * *

Saturday passed and Harry's worries increased, both in regards to Cho Chang and otherwise. One particularly big worry gnawing at him was the prospect of leading a group of students to what amounted to rebellion against the Ministry. He did not feel prepared to teach them anything, as he had said multiple times he did not believe he had anything he could teach them, and furthermore he felt as though he was roping many of his classmates into a risky scheme, one they were joining out of loyalty to him rather than any true belief about the necessity of their actions.

He did not mention this to Ron or Hermione. He knew what they would say, hearing it again would not convince him.

Sunday morning was usually a sleepy day for the inhabitants of Hogwarts, devoted to lying in and relaxing in the common room, as well as completing any last minute homework for the week ahead, and for most of the students at Hogwarts it was this Sunday too. For Harry, Ron and Hermione it was a perfect time to act.

While they'd convinced many of their classmates to join them in forming this group a few very large obstacles sat in their path, one of which being that they had no location in which they felt safe from detection that would also be able to suit their needs. Since the meeting at the Three Broomsticks Ron had suggested the Chamber of Secrets, only for Hermione to remind him just how horrible it had been down there and that there was no guarantee that Umbridge did not know how to find it. Other than that they'd had no new ideas and so they went for help to the one person who knew the castle grounds better than anyone.

"Hello there," Hagrid called cheerfully, wandering round from behind his cabin with a large bucket of slopping water, his sleeves rolled up past his elbows. "What're you three doin' down here at a time like this?"

"We just wanted to visit you, Hagrid," Hermione told him, an outright lie. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Lots to do, Hermione," Hagrid told her. "It's a big job this. The grounds don't look after 'emselves." On the surface this statement would seem patently false as Harry was quite sure that the forest ecosystem was more than robust enough to thrive even without Hagrid's presence. However he knew full well of Hagrid's importance as a caregiver to the various Pokemon that lived there and a keeper of the peace when required. Hagrid, Harry often thought, had the most important job in the school, behind Dumbledore.

"Why don't yeh come join us round the back," Hagrid told them. "We have some battle training going on."

Following Hagrid round the back of his cabin Harry, Ron and Hermione did indeed see that there was some intense battling going on inside the paddock that sat near the edge of the forest. Norbert, the steadfast Shelgon, was standing off against Aragog, Hagrid's Ariados, on one side, and the Mightyena, Fang, on the other. As they watched Fang threw a Shadow Ball at Norbert, who turned to take it side on, bracing against the powerful blow. A String Shot approached from Aragog, trying to trap Norbert in place, but fire burst from the Shelgon's mouth, forcing the Ariados to leap to the side. Fang took this as an opening to charge forward recklessly and crash into Norbert full on. Unfortunately Fang seemed to come out worse in the collision.

"Alrigh' that's enough," Hagrid called, his Pokemon looking to him immediately. "Gather it all in, there's some good lads. That was a mighty fine practice that was." Each of his Pokemon looked immensely pleased.

"I'll say," Ron agreed, looking impressed. "Norbert's looking really strong. I can't believe he only hatched four years ago." Hagrid nodded in agreement.

"Pokémon grow much quicker than humans do," he told them knowledgeably. "You're probably finding that with Pikachu, aren't yeh, Harry. Not quite as young and inexperienced as he once was."

Harry nodded. Pikachu had grown a lot in the two years since they'd met, and though he would always be a bit more childish than Charizard or Talonflame Harry had come to realise that it was actually just part of Pikachu's personality. He was warm and friendly, and not quite as fiercely competitive as Harry's other Pokémon.

"Now, why don't we stop beatin' around the bush, eh," Hagrid said, turning fully to face the three fifth year students, who each jumped in surprise. "Throughout the entire time you lot have been at this school you have not once come visit me on a Sunday morning without having good reason to." Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a look. Hagrid knew them too well.

"We were actually wanting to ask you something," Harry said cautiously. "We didn't really want to wait until class."

"In case Professor Umbridge was inspecting," Hagrid said knowingly. He had them pegged.

"Please Hagrid, all we want to know is if you know of anywhere we can practice battling without Umbridge interrupting," Hermione said earnestly. "We just want to practice so we don't get rusty while she refuses to teach us."

"I suppose that makes sense," Hagrid said, scratching at his beard. "It's jus' the three of yeh, then?" Again Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a look.

"There may be more," Hermione said hesitantly. "Fred and George want to come and maybe Neville and… other people." Hagrid stared down at them, the three students positively wilting under his gaze, before he snorted.

"A lot of other people I'd say," Hagrid said genially. "And not just Gryffindors too, from what I've heard."

"And what have you heard?" Harry asked worriedly. They'd only just met yesterday, how could Hagrid have found out already.

"I was down at the Three Broomsticks last night," Hagrid told them. "Bin chattin' with Madam Rosmerta." He gave them a meaningful look.

Harry turned to Hermione. This was exactly why he had been against saying anything. Hermione looked a bit embarrassed.

"So you know then," Harry said. "You know what we're trying to do." Hagrid nodded.

"Aye, I do," he told them. "And I'm not disagreeing with yeh. Umbridge is a right piece of work and I'm hardly surprised she doesn't teach anythin' but useless Ministry crap." That perked Harry up. "But I think yeh all should be very careful. Umbridge may be a toad but she's got the Ministry behind her and like it or not they've got the power right now."

"They won't for long though," Hermione said. "Once You-know-who decides to make a move…"

"The Ministry will fall like a pack o' cards," Hagrid finished. "And you lot will need to be able to defend yerselves. I told yeh I think it's a good idea. Jus' be careful, alright."

"Okay, we will be," Harry assured him. "Trust me, I understand. So will you help us?" Hagrid's beard crinkled.

"Yeh know what, ever since I heard what yeh were planning I knew you'd come to me," he told them, looking amused. "Didn't think it'd be today but I knew you'd ask. Come with me, I think I have just the place." He walked off into the forest, leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione in his wake, Fang, Norbert and Aragog following alongside them.

The path they took through the forest wasn't one Harry recognised. It was vaguely similar to the one they'd taken to the location of the first task last year, directly behind Hagrid's cabin, but it was a fair bit round to the left than what Harry remembered and it seemed to take longer, perhaps because of the rather steep slope they were forced to climb down, more than once losing their footing and having to hold on to each other for balance.

Ahead of them Hagrid walked forward without any concern, traversing the route with the air of a man who had done so many times before and knew where all the concealed roots and uneven earth were without even needing to look.

"Hagrid, where are you taking us?" Ron asked, panting slightly as he hurried a few steps to catch up with the giant man.

"Yeh'll see in a mo," Hagrid told him. "Just a few more steps." The two of them broke through the line of trees and stopped dead.

"Wow," said Ron.

Harry pulled up beside them, just avoiding getting his foot caught on an exposed root, and looked upon the scene before him. He thoroughly agreed with the sentiment.

The clearing they had been led to was huge, easily big enough for the twenty odd students that would be gathering. A stream of water ran through the middle, narrow in parts, enough for people to jump over, but wide enough in other places for water type Pokemon to thrive. The ground was mostly dirt, with grass spotted around and the occasional large boulder and even a small, somewhat sorry looking tree.

What was most noticeable to Harry were the cliff walls that surrounded the clearing on three sides. They were unscalable, at least without a lot of training, and towered many meters above them, explaining the long slope they'd just climbed down from. Trees were visible up atop the edges, providing even more cover for the clearing even as sunlight shone down to bathe part of the ground in a warm glow.

"Hagrid," Harry said quietly as Ron and Hermione stepped forward, looking around the clearing in awe. "Is this what I think it is?" Hagrid's eyes sparkled.

"The first task," Hagrid said, confirming Harry's suspicions. "This is where the dragon handlers were keeping the Pokemon beforehand. Looks a lot deeper from down here than up there, doesn't it."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. It was somewhat amazing to him to relate this peaceful, beautiful clearing with the dark battleground he'd seen a year ago. Back then the clearing had been the sight of four aggressive and powerful Pokemon challenging each other even as their handlers tried to restrain them. Could it really be the same place?

"This place is surrounded by trees on all sides," Hagrid told them, raising his voice for Hermione and Ron to hear. "It's big but easy ter miss if yeh're not lookin' for it. Only the sky will provide an easy spotting, an' even then the trees give some cover. What do yeh think?"

Ron looked to Hermione, who in turn looked to Harry. Harry nodded.

"It's perfect."

* * *

 **A/N:** Hi there, thanks for reading and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Sorry this is a late upload, unfortunately I've been a bit busy so haven't been able to meet my usual upload schedule.

I also wanted to take the chance to talk about something a couple of you mentioned in the reviews about how surprised you are at Hermione being the one to stand up to Umbridge, and not Harry. The reason for this is that I have always seen Hermione as someone who has a great respect for authority, and I've always imagined that it would greatly insult her to witness people in authority specifically going against their responsibilities. A teacher who refuses to teach, for example, or a journalist who refuses to publish the truth. I think this is a large part of her dislike of Trelawney in the books, since she saw her as someone who was trying to convince them of something that wasn't real and dared to do so under the title of teacher. Rita Skeeter is another very good example.

I know it runs a bit contrary to cannon that Harry isn't standing up to Umbridge like this but I've found that my version of Harry hasn't got quite the same frustration and angst with being left out of the loop in the fight against Voldemort. He got his chance to say his piece in a Legion meeting and though he isn't being told everything he feels much more in the know than JK's version of Harry.

I've always imagined Harry as someone who cares more about results (i.e. making sure people are safe and trying to defeat Voldemort to protect everyone), as opposed to Hermione who fights on behalf of principle, that without this angst he would be much less likely to be openly confrontational. That doesn't mean he won't fight to undermine Umbridge, just that he doesn't see the point of openly confronting her when it won't achieve anything and just causes more trouble.

Anyway, this is just my interpretation and I just left this note to give you an idea of why I went the route I did with this story. I'm not saying I'm right but it is what I think so that's how I write it. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to seeing you all in the next one.


	14. Watched

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Never in the process of forming this new group had Harry been for the idea more than he was against it. He agreed with the principle, agreed that they needed to learn and that Umbridge was never going to teach them, but he disagreed wholeheartedly that he was the one who should do it instead. And for that reason he was dead set against the idea, even as it progressed.

But after talking to Hagrid and being provided with one of the few crucial tools needed to actually get this group up and running Harry felt himself get excited for the first time. For now he was finally able to forget about him teaching his fellow students and focus on the rebellious side. They were finally getting one up on Umbridge, up on the Ministry, and Harry was more than ready for the fight.

His enthusiasm was dampened heavily by a notice that had been placed up on the Gryffindor noticeboard in the common room Monday morning. It was a short note, an A5 sized paper such that you could only really make out the words if you walked right up to it, but once you did you wished you hadn't.

'Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four,' the note read. 'All student organisations, societies, teams, groups, and clubs are henceforth disbanded. An organisation, society, team, group, or club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor. No student organisation, society, team, group, or club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor. Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an organisation, society, team, group, or club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.'

"Damn, how did she know?" Ron muttered as the three of them read the new decree. "You don't reckon Rosmerta told her."

"It seems unlikely," Hermione offered hesitantly. "I know she told Hagrid but I doubt she would have told Professor Umbridge. She doesn't like her any more than we do."

"Still, maybe she just overheard her," Ron suggested. "She told Hagrid, who knows who else she told. And while Hagrid would notice if that fat toad was hanging around not everyone will have."

"No," Harry spoke up, his voice stopping Hermione and Ron's debate. "No, she can't know. If she did she would have come after us directly, even if we weren't breaking a school rule. No, I think she just heard rumours. A lot of people were at that meeting. It would be surprising if nobody had noticed their absence, or the lot of them climbing up to the room. It's not like it's easy to be inconspicuous in the Three Broomsticks."

"So what do we do?" Ron asked. Harry paused.

"Nothing," he said eventually. "We act normally. It's not like we've figured out a way of hiding from Umbridge yet anyway. Besides, this decree doesn't really change things. We already knew we'd be in trouble if we were caught."

"But expelled," Hermione said worriedly.

"You think some people might bolt?" Ron asked.

Hermione nodded, chewing her lips. "I doubt the Gryffindors would and the Ravenclaws have too much sense. But that Zacharias Smith in Hufflepuff might decide to turn us in if he thought he'd get something out of it." Ron swore.

"So how do we stop him?" He asked. "He could sell us all out at any moment." Hermione frowned.

"I suppose the best way is to make sure he comes," Hermione said. "If we can tie his fate to ours he'll be much less likely to tell on us. That way if we go down he'll go down with us."

"Either that or exclude him entirely," Harry said. "Although the other Hufflepuffs might have a problem with that. Anyway, that can be left for now. Come on, lets get down to breakfast."

Harry, Ron and Hermione, some of the last students to leave the Gryffindor Common Room, began their journey towards the Great Hall.

"We have a place to practice, so that's sorted," Hermione whispered as they walked. "All we need now before we can meet is a way to get there without everyone noticing us walking across the lawn."

"We could do it at night," Harry suggested. "When it's dark you can't see anything through the windows. And provided it's late enough there shouldn't be anyone in the common rooms."

"That could be quite risky," Hermione said. "It would only take one student pulling an all-nighter…"

"Guys," Ron said, his voice loud and pulling Harry and Hermione from their conversation in surprise. "I think we've got bigger problems than studying students." And he pointed down the corridor.

Harry didn't see anything at first, the hallway seemed empty to him, yet as he looked he realised that there was something most definitely out of place. His eyes scanned the area carefully, cataloguing every inch of stone wall until he saw it and his eyes widened.

The camera was blindingly obvious, now that he'd seen it, yet it was no surprise he hadn't thought to look. It was perched above head height, in near the point where the ceiling and wall connected, and it was looking right down the corridor at them.

"They're everywhere," Ron said grimly and Harry turned to look behind them. At the junction they'd just turned at two cameras looked out from the corner, one facing towards them, one looking back the way they'd come.

"No," Hermione whispered, her face white. "They can't do this, they just can't."

"They have," Ron said grimly. "It's finally happened. The Ministry are so scared they're spying on us. No one does anything here without them knowing. And it works, too. How could we possibly meet up now?"

* * *

The cameras were a shock above and beyond the education decree that'd greeted them that morning and it had taken the whole castle by surprise. The Great Hall was silent and tense, nobody feeling even remotely comfortable and all too aware of the cameras situated in each corner and attached to the wooden beams above them. It seemed people were afraid to even breath.

"Hey, Harry," a hushed voice sounded from beside him and he turned to see Fred sitting next to him, very calmly eating his cereal as he sat there.

Harry knew what he was trying to do. But communicating properly with all these cameras on them would be impossible.

"Common room," Harry said simply, covering up his words by taking a big slurp of soup. Fred seemed to get the picture for he didn't even react.

"This is mad," Ron muttered from across the table. It seemed he had missed Harry's exchange with Fred. "How are we going to do anything if we can't even talk to each other?"

It was a difficult task but Harry already had the seeds of an idea in his head. For now, though, he needed everyone to stay calm.

"Hermione," Harry muttered, eyeing Ginny as she entered the Great Hall and wandered between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables. "Pretend you forgot something in the common room and see if there are any cameras there. On your way tell Ginny to sit with Michael this morning and spread the message to keep your head down."

Hermione didn't respond in words. Instead she put on a surprised face and ducked under the table to look in her bag.

"Shoot," she said aloud, standing up quickly and hoisting her bag over her shoulder. "I forgot something. I'll meet you in class." She strode down the aisle, pausing only to exchange a few words with Ginny, before she was gone. Ginny, not looking remotely suspicious, turned to sit at the Ravenclaw table instead of Gryffindor and muttered something to a surprised looking Michael.

"Fred, you're in charge of telling the Quidditch girls," Harry said after seeing the success of his small scheme. "Wait until you're with them naturally. Don't go looking for them or you'll be too obvious." Fred nodded, covering the movement up with a stretch and a yawn.

"Ron, when we head off to class I want you to go up to Ginny and tell her to tell Colin and Dennis," Harry said, cutting Ron off as he went to complain. "Make it look like you're annoyed to see her sitting with Michael." Ron swallowed his objection.

"I can do that," he said and his grip on his fork tightened as he narrowed his gaze on the Ravenclaw table.

"I'm going to get Neville to talk to Hannah and the Hufflepuffs," Harry told them. "Hopefully we'll be able to get through all this without anything happening." The bell rang. "Good luck."

* * *

Life at Hogwarts quickly proved to be a living nightmare. If Harry had to make a comparison he would liken it to the reaction the school had in his second year when the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. It was shocking to think things could have gone back to that.

Meanwhile Harry's scheme to keep their rebellion under wraps had gone off without a hitch. Not one mention of their battle study group had come up in the weeks that had followed and the other attendees of their Hogsmeade meeting kept their distance from Harry and did not speak of the matter.

And it was a good thing they did too as the cameras remained an ever present part of Hogwarts life. Harry had expected that at some point parents would protest, the cameras seeming to betray the students' rights to privacy, but there was no news, at least in the Prophet, of any complaints. Indeed, the Prophet continued to wax lyrically on the marvellous job the Ministry, and Professor Umbridge in particular, were doing at Hogwarts. It was like they were in their own little world completely separate from reality.

But as life always did at Hogwarts, Harry's four and a bit years experience telling him so, things started to gravitate back to normal. The cameras, though still incredibly intrusive and thankfully restricted to corridors, classrooms and the Great Hall, started to become just part of the castle and people started to forget about them, if only briefly.

They were helped by the arrival of the Quidditch season, which, in Harry's experience, was always a catalyst for things going back to normal. The first game of the season was just a few days after Halloween and was Gryffindor versus Slytherin, the biggest game of the Quidditch season bar none. The atmosphere ratcheted up over the weeks until it reached fever pitch, both houses more desperate than ever to get one over on the other.

Ron wasn't doing well with the pressure. He'd been training with the team ever since being chosen to replace Wood and he and Machop were doing a good job, though of course not as good as Wood and Snorlax had done. That would be expecting too much. Nevertheless the team threw encouragement at Ron and it seemed to stick, his play with Machop only improving as time went on, but not everyone was so encouraging.

The Slytherins were never above using underhanded tactics, in fact they revelled in them, and they had quickly identified Ron as the weak link in an otherwise established and experienced Gryffindor team. In the week before the match Slytherin students mocked and jeered him in the corridors, doing everything they could to throw him off his game, and it was working incredibly well.

"I can't do this," Ron muttered as he sat at breakfast the morning of the match. Harry had expected this, having seen it coming a mile off, and already had his response planned out.

"Yes, you can," he said simply, trying to put as much surety into his voice as possible. It was quite difficult to do. Harry fully believed that Ron could do this, and do it well, but he also saw how flummoxed he was by the attention shown to him and Harry knew that this Ron, the one who was slightly green and hadn't even touched his breakfast, was a liability on the pitch.

"You should eat something," Hermione said, doing her best to help out. "Remember when Harry started and he was all nervous. That turned out fine, didn't it."

Ron swallowed. "Alright," he said, unconvincingly. "I suppose."

Harry rolled his eyes. That was probably the best they were going to get. He took another bite of sausage, his stomach settled and his attitude confident, as Angelina stood from her seat further up the table.

"Team," she said imperiously. "Let's go." Ron paled.

"Come on," Harry said encouragingly, standing up and brushing off the crumbs from breakfast. Ron rose too, more automatically, and he bumped the table loudly as he did so.

"Good luck," Hermione said. "Both of you." Harry knew she only really meant Ron, Ron was the one who needed the encouragement, but he nodded to her nevertheless and took a grip of Ron's shoulder, guiding him towards the doors as Ron automatically gave in to his control.

The Slytherin table jeered loudly as they went. Harry ignored them. Ron gulped.

Out on the open grounds things were clearer and Harry breathed in a breath of fresh air. It was quiet out, no sound but for the rustling wind as the rest of the students remained in the Great Hall for a few minutes longer, and Harry felt at peace. He was never nervous during Quidditch games anymore. He loved them.

Ron would eventually have the same attitude, Harry knew, but for now it was all about getting him through that first game. It had been the same for him, back when he was a first year, and the confidence from winning that game had continued on to now.

"Harry," Ron spoke up nervously, halfway down to the Quidditch pitch. "Tell me seriously. Do you think I can do this?" His expression was so pitifully vulnerable that Harry wouldn't have been able to tell him no even if he'd wanted to.

Instead he did what was asked and told Ron the truth.

"If you play like you do in practice," he told him. "You're not Wood, no one is expecting that. You're not meant to be the star of the team. So stop putting so much pressure on yourself. There are six guys out there, one of whom is me, that have your back. Just do your thing, we'll do the rest."

Ron swallowed and nodded. He stood up straighter, to Harry's delight, and he marched into the changing room standing tall, looking confident, even if it was just a mask.

The rest of the team had already gathered, Angelina already fully kitted out and ready to walk out onto the pitch despite the fact the stands were still empty. The rest of the team nodded to Harry as he entered, familiarity removing the need for words to be spoken, and he followed Ron to his locker as Ron almost mechanically got ready, his face focused and unflinching. Even as sounds were heard outside, the thundering of feet in the stands above, Ron kept his gaze firmly on his locker.

Eventually Angelina called them to attention.

"Right, we know what we've got to do," she said brusquely. "Slytherin are a known quantity. We know what they're going to do. What we have to do in response is to play our game and force them to play at our pace."

"Now get out there and win," she told them, as if daring any of them to argue. "Wood may be gone but I expect nothing less than the cup this year. If you're not playing for that then you are not playing at all. Let's go."

They walked out to tumultuous applause, garnering the support of the majority of the school, as usual. The Slytherins were traditionally unpopular, due to their foul play and even worse attitude, and so even the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were hoping to see them thoroughly trounced.

The pregame handshakes passed by without major incident, the Slytherins doing their best to crush the hands of their opposite numbers, but the Gryffindor team were far too used to this tactic to care. Only Ron showed any reaction, nursing his wrist gingerly as he returned to his position, though seeing the three female Chasers non-reaction he quickly shrugged it off.

"Alright teams, release your Pokémon!" Madam Hooch called and a flash of red light lit up the field briefly as fourteen Pokemon made an appearance at once. On the Gryffindor side of the field the three Chasers stood together, as did the two Beaters, giving the impression they were conspiring together, while Machop made his way to the goalposts, flexing his muscles. Harry rose high above the pitch, Talonflame by his side, looking down as the pitch revealed itself in its entirety before him.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello there, thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you've enjoyed it.

I just wanted to talk about the reaction to the last chapter, particularly the negative comments regarding a potential Harry/Ginny pairing. I'm not going to be making any statement about what pairing I'm actually going to use, for any character, but I was interested by the response, especially considering there was actually very little in the last chapter that hinted at a future Harry/Ginny pairing (though I do see what prompted the response).

I know that people have pairings that they like and pairings that they absolutely hate but I've always struggled with the hate for Harry/Ginny pairings. After all, this is the canon pairing. Also the review that hoped for Harry not to be paired with Hermione or Luna either confuses me a bit. Hermione, Ginny and Luna are the three female characters who are most likely to have ended up with Harry based purely on the fact that they get on well with Harry and they are of a similar age to him. I suppose the Quidditch girls could also be counted in this but I'm suspecting that what you really have in mind by saying this is for Harry to end up with someone like Daphne Greengrass, who we know virtually nothing about from canon, or Fleur or Tonks who are probably a bit too old considering Harry is still at school and they've both graduated by this point.

I'm not saying you have to like certain pairings for any reason because you do not. You are perfectly within your rights to like whatever pairings you want and dislike whatever pairings you want. You are even allowed to stop reading my story if you don't like my pairings. You can stop reading any story for any reason. I just want people reading to keep an open mind. I already know all my pairings and they aren't going to change as that would severely affect my plans for the story. I just hope that you'll give my story a chance if it seems as though I'm going for a pairing you don't like. It is my personal philosophy that a good writer can make even a disliked pairing good and since I know that there will be people disappointed no matter which pairing I choose that is all I can do.

In the meantime feel free to tell me what pairings you like and what pairings you dislike, and please let me know why as well. I have my own views so it would be interesting to hear from other people's perspectives. If you would even like to PM me so we could discuss this in more depth I would be happy to share my views and listen to yours.

With all that said if you give me a chance and still don't like the pairing then you can stop reading if you want to. In the meantime I hope you will continue to enjoy the story and I'll see you in the next chapter.


	15. The Match

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The Slytherin team had changed somewhat in the two years since they'd last played. Back in Harry's second year Lucius Malfoy, in an attempt to buy the Quidditch Cup for Slytherin, had donated five Vigoroth and a Slaking to the Slytherin team to play with. Now only remnants of that team remained.

With Marcus Flint having finally graduated, a year late, the enormous and surprisingly agile Slaking was no longer guarding the Slytherin goalposts. A Ferrothorn took up the gloves instead, and though intimidating would undoubtedly be much less difficult to deal with than Slaking. Only three of the five Vigoroth remained, two Chasers and a Beater, and the last member of that formidable team, the Seeker, fluttered overhead.

Draco Malfoy's Honchkrow flew, silent as the night and all the more menacing, and Harry remembered the day only too well that Honchkrow had reached this evolutionary stage. Back then it had terrified Harry, worried that Aerodactyl, who he'd been forced to play with in Fletchinder's absence, would not have what it takes to beat him.

Now he was much less concerned. For one thing he had Talonflame with him, undoubtedly one of, if not the, greatest fliers in the school. Only once had he failed to catch the snitch, and on that occasion he'd been struck by lightning, and in the time since the last match he'd taken on a Charizard too. They were more than capable of beating Honchkrow.

The whistle to signal the start of the game caught Harry by surprise, his evaluation of the Slytherin team having distracted his focus, but he quickly turned his attention down to the pitch below as the Chasers threw themselves at the Quaffle.

"Gryffindor in possession," Lee Jordan announced, commentating as usual. "Lopunny taking the lead. Nice layback to Hitmontop, close call but Vigoroth misses with the steal. Now Hitmontop again, Hitmonlee, passes, fakes, Gryffindor score!"

Harry grinned as the stadium erupted and Hitmonlee sprung back into position as a Slytherin Chaser fetched the Quaffle. Angelina, Alicia and Katie were looking better than ever and their many years experience playing together was proving too much for the Slytherin Chasers to handle.

"Now Slytherin in possession, Vigoroth with the ball, passes to… Vigoroth, to Vigoroth, to Vigoroth, hey, will you two cut it out!" The crowd laughed at Lee's annoyance as the two Vigoroth Chasers continued to share the Quaffle between them.

"Alright, I'm not saying anything until someone else touches the Quaffle," Lee announced, just as one of the Vigoroth, finally, passed to the third Chaser. "Finally. Marowak takes possession… passes back to Vigoroth, back to Marowak, oh! Nearly intercepted there but Marowak holds on and there's an opportunity with Hitmonlee out of position! To Vigoroth, the other Vigoroth, back to the first one, he shoots… Saved!"

Harry let out a sigh of relief as Machop clung securely to the Quaffle, having correctly predicted that Vigoroth would throw it straight. He prepared to throw it out.

"Foul!" Lee Jordan cried and Harry couldn't believe what he'd just seen. Vigoroth, the one who had just shot moments ago, had barrelled straight into Machop, knocking him roughly into the goalpost.

Madam Hooch's whistle blew.

"Gryffindor penalty!" She announced, perhaps the easiest call she'd ever had to make in a match.

"Too right," Lee said, calming down slightly after his initial anger. "And Machop gets up and brushes himself off. Solid Pokémon, that. Now Lopunny to take the penalty, waiting for the whistle… she scores. Twenty zero Gryffindor!"

And the game continued in the same vein. Gryffindor, powered by the triumvirate of Lopunny, Hitmonlee and Hitmontop, were running Slytherin ragged, scoring at will whenever they had possession.

But they weren't given that opportunity often. Despite Harry knowing that the Slytherins liked to play dirty he was still shocked by the number of fouls they were committing, and they were all focused on one player.

Machop, standing in the Gryffindor goal, was doing a fine job of filling Snorlax's boots. But with every save he made came a blow, either from a Slytherin Chaser or one of their Beaters, and a penalty awarded to Gryffindor. With each one the score mounted up more in Gryffindor's favour and with each foul Machop took longer and longer to get back to his feet.

Angelina called a time out.

"I don't believe it," she said angrily as Harry finally made it down to the ground to join the rest of the team. Only the Chasers and Ron were there though. Fred and George, perhaps even angrier than Angelina, were arguing with Madam Hooch out in the centre of the pitch. Not that there was anything she could do. She was punishing them just as much as the rules allowed her to.

"This is ridiculous, Fred, George, get over here!" A disgruntled Fred and George gave up their discussion with Hooch and trudged over to the team, not looking happy.

"Hooch says she can't do anything apart from give penalties when Slytherin foul," Fred spat. "Bloody cheaters. They are barely even trying to play Quidditch."

"I know, it's awful," Katie agreed. "We haven't even been given the chance to attack properly, just penalties. I don't think Hitmontop or Hitmonlee have touched the Quaffle in ten minutes."

"Agreed, it's awful, but we can't stand around here and just complain about it," Angelina told them seriously. "We need to make a plan. If they are able to keep hitting Machop eventually he won't be able to get back up. Fred, George, you're on protection duty."

"Got it," Fred and George told her.

"Do your best to protect Machop but failing that try and rough up the Slytherins the same as they're doing to us," Angelina said. "It may be poor sportsmanship but against the Slytherins I don't think I care." The rest of the team agreed.

"I don't think I have to tell you what to do, Potter," Angelina said. "When you see the Snitch, catch it."

"I will," Harry said. It was as simple as that. He wouldn't just try, he would get that snitch.

Angelina nodded in approval. "I suppose that's all I've got to say except get back out there," she told them. "Ron," she said, singling out the newest member of the team. He looked nervous. "Good work, keep it up." Ron nodded and swallowed. His focus was back.

As Harry rose back into the air, the game preparing to start below him, he felt anger boil within him. It was so unfair, so low of the Slytherins to be targeting Ron like that. It was cruel. Machop, the poor thing, was battling bravely but this was the sort of thing that could cause serious psychological issues. It only stirred Harry's desire to win even more. If they lost who knew how bad Machop would take it.

The game was back in full flow, Gryffindor finally having proper possession of the Quaffle for the first time in a while. They bared down on goal, probing and pressing the Slytherin defences, but they were brought short by Madam Hooch's whistle.

"Gryffindor penalty!" She cried, and it quickly became clear why. Whilst the whole stadium was watching the Gryffindor Chasers go forward another attack had gone by almost completely unnoticed. The Slytherin Beater, Carracosta, had hit an unsuspecting Machop with a Water Pulse, blasting him backwards and off the edge of the pitch.

The response from the Gryffindor team was immediate. Fred and George's Kecleon were called back, now standing guard on either side of a now groggy Machop, while the Gryffindor Chasers lined up in front of them.

Lopunny scored the penalty.

"Lopunny scores! One hundred and ten to thirty Gryffindor!" Lee announced, stressing the score as much as possible, presumably to try and get back at the Slytherins for their dirty tactics. The Slytherins didn't seem to care.

"Slytherin in possession, one of their cheaters, sorry, I mean, Chasers, with the Quaffle," unlike on past occasions McGonagall didn't admonish him. She was there, standing watchfully over his shoulder, but her face was tight. She looked furious.

"And Vigoroth passes to Vigoroth who passes to Marowak who passes to Vigoroth," Lee said in a bored voice. "I don't think I've seen anything more mind numbing than watching Slytherin play. Oh look, they've passed it forward now. They should probably cut mistakes like that out."

The Slytherin section of the stands were jeering loudly but Harry couldn't imagine that any one of them thought they had the moral grounds to complain. Their team had used some of the most underhanded and foul tricks in the book today. They deserved all of Lee's criticisms, and more.

"And Vigoroth finally wakes up and realises he's playing Quidditch," Lee announced. "He moves forward, takes a shot… excellent save by Machop. I've got to say, this Pokemon is plucky. Proving it takes more than dirty tactics to beat pure determination. This has been an _outstanding_ performance by the newest member of the Gryffindor team."

Lee was laying it on a little thick, understandably given how much it was winding up the Slytherins, but Harry nevertheless agreed with the sentiment. Machop had been a rock, much like Snorlax had been before him, and his steady consistency had kept Ron focused too. Even now, half an hour into the match, Ron could be heard shouting encouragements onto the pitch.

"Oh, that's nasty!" Lee cried as Vigoroth predictably slashed Machop, striking him viciously across the chest. "At what point do we start handing out bans, eh? Penalty to Gryffindor."

Lopunny stepped forward, taking the familiar route to the penalty spot, and waited patiently for the rest of the players to take their positions. Meanwhile, Vigoroth pulled himself to his feet, shooting an evil grin at Machop. He scraped his claws together menacingly as he made his way towards his own end of the pitch. Then a tongue wrapped around his shoulder. Another tongue wrapped around his waist. Vigoroth suddenly found himself lifted into the air, eyes wide and panicked, and was slammed head first into the pitch.

"Good on you!" Lee cheered, along with the Gryffindor section of the stands, as the dazed Vigoroth rubbed his head tenderly. "Some brotherly love right there. Kecleon aren't going to let those arses take potshots at Machop!" The Gryffindor jubilation was mellowed slightly as Madam Hooch blew her whistle. Penalty to Slytherin.

"Okay, just to clear this up we'll have that Gryffindor penalty first," Lee explained to the spectators. "Then the Slytherin one. Let's go Lopunny!"

As Lopunny stepped up, Quaffle at the ready. Harry looked down below. Ron was crouched next to Machop, who had been knocked off the pitch by the latest attack, giving him words of encouragement as he helped him back to his feet. Harry hoped it worked, and hoped even more that the snitch would finally show itself so this game could be over.

Down below Lopunny scored the penalty.

"Yes! One hundred and twenty to thirty! Now the Slytherin penalty." The Chasers wandered back to the Gryffindor end of the pitch, lining up as they had before except the opposite way around, and Machop dragged himself to his position in front of the posts.

The entire stadium was quiet as Vigoroth took his time, sizing up his opponent with a gleam in his eye. He took a step forward, standing over the Quaffle, and hoisted it into one clawed hand.

"Machop!" Machop cried challengingly, showing he wasn't going to be intimidated by the larger Pokémon. His muscles were tensed, taught against his bruised and battered skin. "Machop!"

And then he started to glow. The whole world was still, watching in wonder and disbelief, as Machop grew taller and broader, the light turning brighter than anything before it burst…

… and Machoke stood before them.

"Machoke!" He cried, pumped up and ready. He flexed his muscles, the bulges dancing delightedly across his entire frame, and he fixed Vigoroth with a determined stare.

Madam Hooch's whistle blew. Vigoroth tossed the Quaffle. Machoke caught it with ease.

"Take that!" Lee cried delightedly. "Terrible penalty and Machop, sorry, Machoke, saves it! And he's attacking again. Unbelievable."

Vigoroth had thrown himself forward wildly, clearly programmed to attack at all times as he threw himself at Machoke. In response Machoke cocked back a huge fist, and punched him viciously in the face.

"Slytherin penalty!" Hooch cried but Gryffindors didn't care a jolt. Vigoroth, Slytherin's designated penalty taker, was lying crosseyed on the ground at Machoke's feet, all but out of the game.

A cry went up in the stands.

"The snitch!" Lee shouted. "The snitch has appeared! Of all the times…"

Harry shut off Lee's commentary as his focus sharpened and, without needing to be instructed, Talonflame shot forward.

They'd reacted a little slow, distracted by what had occurred down on the pitch below, but Talonflame had more than enough speed to make up the distance. Honchkrow was fast for his species, but so was Talonflame and that meant a lot.

Talonflame nipped in to grab the snitch first.

"And Talonflame's got the snitch and is heading home!" Lee Jordan yelled, the whole stadium up on their feet to watch. "And he's moving fast! Dodged a Dark Pulse! Close shave but still with the Snitch! Come on now, Talonflame! Yes! Yes! Talonflame catches the Snitch! Gryffindor win! Two hundred and seventy to thirty! Take that you foul, cheating…!"

Lee Jordan's commentary was cut off, and Harry could easily imagine the stern telling off he was getting from Professor McGonagall, but he didn't care one jolt. The crowd had erupted as Talonflame dropped the Snitch on the Gryffindor pole and still they cheered as Madam Hooch blew sharply on her whistle to signal the end of the match.

"Well done, Talonflame," Harry said as the fiery bird Pokemon swooped down towards him. "Well done." He lowered his balloon to the ground, Talonflame gliding down with him, and was met at the bottom by Ron, who grabbed him in a headlock and roughly rubbed at his head.

"Brilliant mate," he crowed, grinning broadly. "Way to show them."

"You too," Harry agreed as he was finally released and allowed to straighten up. "And congratulations. Machoke looks really strong." Machoke flexed his muscles proudly, causing his body to undulate. There was not an ounce of fat anywhere to be seen.

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "I can't wait till the next match. He did great as a Machop, I can't even imagine how brilliant he'll be now." He looked absolutely delighted. Harry was proud.

Their euphoria was brought to a sudden end as a commotion broke out in the centre of the pitch. There was the sound of a scuffle, cries and the sounds of blows being landed.

"Fred! No!" Angelina shouted.

Harry and Ron shared a look and ran forward, rushing towards the scene with worry. They were not expecting what they saw.

George Weasley, his face livid with rage, was straining against the combined strength of Angelina, Alicia and Katie, and what he was straining for was even worse. Fred, unrestrained, was kneeling over the prone form of Draco Malfoy, raining blow after blow on the Slytherin who was barely putting up an effort to defend himself. It didn't look like he could.

"Fred," Ron said, alarmed, trying to grab hold of his arm as he threw another punch. But Fred shrugged him off angrily, not even looking up to acknowledge them as he continued his assault on Malfoy's face.

Together Harry and Ron moved forward as one and grasped hold of Fred tightly, dragging him backwards with no little difficulty as Fred continued to strain against them, reaching for his already defeated foe. Malfoy was still lying on the ground, groaning in pain, and nobody in the Slytherin team moved to help. Harry wasn't sure if it was because of shock or they just didn't care.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Madam Hooch's voice split the air around them as she stomped forward, her face furious. "Never have I ever seen…!"

"He deserved it," Fred spat, literally sending a globule of spit towards Malfoy's prone form and prompting Harry and Ron to pull him back further. "That worthless piece of scum…"

"Mr Weasley!" Professor McGonagall's voice silenced him, and all those around him, as Harry and Ron automatically turned towards her, holding Fred between them as if in sacrifice to the furious head of house. "How disgraceful!"

Never had Harry seen McGonagall this angry, and he'd provoked her ire plenty of times in the past. Her eyes were narrowed, her lips pursed tight together in a thin line, and she fixed her glare so firmly on Fred that he did not dare look.

"How shameful!" McGonagall told him, her words falling like jackhammers. "To attack another student in front of the whole school! Your parents taught you better than that! Hogwarts has taught you better than that!" Fred looked down at the ground, ashamed.

"You'll lose fifty points from Gryffindor," McGonagall told him. "And you'll be in detention for a month. Not a word, I won't hear it. This is disgraceful, unworthy of this school, of your house, of your family. What your parents will think when I tell them…"

"Hem, hem."

Harry had not thought anything would have been able to stop McGonagall's tirade but it appeared that the small, irritating fake cough from Professor Umbridge had done just the trick. Her mouth clamped shut, her eyes narrowing even further than before, and she turned stiffly to face her colleague.

"Yes, Delores?" she said, barely managing to keep a modicum of respect. In the break in McGonagall's tirade Madam Pomfrey rushed forward and started attending to Malfoy. Harry couldn't see his face but the cloth Madam Pomfrey was using to wipe it was covered in blood.

"Dear, Minerva, there's no need to be uncivil," Umbridge said with a titter. "I am just here to help."

"I don't need help," McGonagall said shortly. Anyone watching could attest to that.

"I disagree," Umbridge told her, ignoring the way her nostrils flared. "I think, unfortunately, your hands are tied when it comes to doling out punishment. As my role as High Inquisitor I can be a lot more thorough."

"Mr Weasley is a Gryffindor student," McGonagall said sharply. "That means he is my responsibility and it falls on me to assign his punishment." Umbridge tittered again.

"Yes, that used to be the case," she said with a small, fake, laugh. "But, as a stroke of good fortune would have it, I was just in conference with Cornelius, that is to say, the Minister, this very morning, discussing an interesting piece of legislation that just passed through the wizengamot. Shall I read it, Minerva?" McGonagall nodded curtly. It was clear Umbridge was going to read it anyway.

Umbridge, looking pleased, pulled out a small letter from her pocket, folded neatly into a tiny little square, which she opened delicately before letting out another fake cough and she started to read.

"Educational Decree Number Twenty-Five," she began, to Harry's horror. "The High Inquisitor will henceforth have supreme authority over all punishments, sanctions and removal of privileges pertaining to the students of Hogwarts, and the power to alter such punishments, sanctions and removal of privileges as may have been ordered by other staff members. Signed, Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Pokémon." Umbridge folded the letter up and slipped it back into her pocket.

"So you see, Minerva, I have the right and indeed the responsibility to take charge in cases of severe disobedience and I must say that house points and detention don't seem nearly enough punishment for such an aggressive and unprovoked attack on another student."

"It wasn't unprovoked," Fred growled angrily.

"And we're suppose to believe you?" Umbridge said with a patronising glance. "No, clearly you have not been punished enough. I suggest there should be no more Quidditch for you. And no Hogsmeade trips either. A lifetime ban for both would seem suitable."

"What?!" Fred gasped and Harry and Ron actually dropped his arms in surprise at the verdict. But Fred didn't do anything. He was far too shocked.

"And I think the same should apply for your brother too," Umbridge added.

"He didn't do anything," Harry argued. For all the good it would do.

"Mr Weasley's twin was quite clearly willing to commit the same crime, Mr Potter," Umbridge said sweetly. "If his teammates hadn't stopped him who knows what would have happened to poor Mr Malfoy." For all her words Umbridge had not glanced once at where the boy lay.

"Delores, really," McGonagall spoke up. "To punish a boy for an act he has not even committed…"

"Is under my authority," Umbridge said simply, raising herself to her full height, which coincidentally was still a fair bit shorter than McGonagall. "I did express my concerns about allowing the Gryffindor Quidditch Team to reform Minerva, for this precise reason. Now with Educational Decree Number Twenty-Five I have no need to accede to your demands. It is about time you get used to the fact that things are changing here at Hogwarts. This is only the beginning."


	16. Unexpected Encounters

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The atmosphere up in Gryffindor Tower was not pleasant. You would never have guessed they'd won the match, judging by the grim looks on everyone's faces, or that they'd completely obliterated their greatest rivals. No one really seemed to care about that. After all, what use was it to beat Slytherin if they were just going to lose to everyone else.

Angelina was irate.

"I can't believe you," she hissed over to Fred and George. They were sitting on a sofa together, looking so unlike their usual selves. They seemed to have lost what made them truly alive.

"We get it, Angie," Fred told her mutinously. "We get you're mad."

"Mad," Angelina hissed. "I'm furious. Do you not realise you have singlehandedly handed the Quidditch Cup to Ravenclaw. Or worse, to Slytherin."

"It wouldn't have been singlehanded if you hadn't held me back," George told her. "I still want a go at that twat. Might as well earn my punishment, eh."

"George don't," Katie whispered, looking really anxious. George fell quiet. But Angelina wasn't finished.

"What got into you?" She asked them. "Seriously, what could Malfoy have possibly said to make you act like that?"

"He insulted our parents," Fred said angrily.

"So!?" Angelina replied, her voice shrill. "What's new with that? What on earth made you think it was a good idea to attack Malfoy in front of the whole school?"

"It wasn't just _our_ parents," George said quietly, throwing an awkward glance sideways at Harry.

"What?" Angelina asked angrily. But Harry already knew.

"Leave it," he said tiredly. The day had drained him dry and it was still only mid-afternoon. "Leave it, Angelina. You're not going to get an answer that'll satisfy you." Angelina narrowed her eyes at him.

"So you think that Malfoy deserved it then?" she challenged. "You think they were right to be so foolish?" Harry hesitated.

"They shouldn't have done it," he admitted, glancing briefly at the twins as he did so. Neither of them looked like they'd argue the point. "But you don't know Malfoy like I do. Whatever you think he might have said is nowhere near as bad as what he actually did. He definitely deserved what he got."

Angelina did not believe him. She never said it aloud but he could tell. The problem was that she just didn't understand Malfoy, or even Fred and George, like Harry did. Malfoy was vicious, unprincipled. Nothing was off limits when it came to his cutting barbs. And no one was as loyal as a Weasley, and Fred and George were no exception. It wasn't the cracks about their parents that had set them off, Harry knew it. It was the cracks about his. Fred and George, for all they joked around, truly cared about people and Harry was like a brother, at least that's how he felt about them. They wouldn't, simply couldn't, let such an insult slide.

The afternoon passed by slowly, in a flurry of nothingness as one by one the Gryffindors eventually gave up on the day, returning to their dormitories to try and start afresh tomorrow. The quidditch team were some of the last, Angelina making a pointed comment about arranging tryouts again before she left, and Fred and George went soon after, Lee Jordan hovering worriedly behind them.

Soon enough the Common Room had completely cleared but for Harry, Ron and Hermione. The loud tick of the grandfather clock was the only sound in the room.

"Well," Harry said heavily. "Some first match, Ron." Ron let out an uncomfortable chuckle.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Slytherin foul play, Machop evolving, winning the match, Malfoy getting the crap beaten out of him…" he tailed off. "Saying it like that it seems weird to feel like we've lost." He grimaced.

"We'll survive," Harry assured him, though inside he had doubts. "Fred and George are good but even without them I reckon we can take anyone in the school."

"At least with you and Talonflame as Seeker," Ron said, throwing an admiring glance at the flying type as he perched on the back of a wooden chair, head tucked under his wing. "Only problem really is Ravenclaw. And you've beaten Chang before."

Harry nodded but he wasn't really listening. He was too lost in thought.

"Still, this educational decree," Ron muttered. "This means trouble."

"It means Umbridge is even more powerful than ever before," Hermione said abruptly, speaking up after having spent so much of the day in silence. "It means that sooner or later, unless You-know-who shows himself, she will be in charge of the school, and by proxy so will the Ministry."

"We'd got that, thanks Hermione," Ron grumbled. "Just trying not to think about it. At what point do we just drop out of school and go learn at home."

"About the point when Umbridge makes a decree saying you have to attend Hogwarts," Harry said dully. "I don't get it, how is she getting away with this? Surely people are wondering what is going on? Security cameras all over the place, a High Inquisitor who can't even teach her own subject, how is anyone okay with that?" He shuddered. "Is anyone else feeling a bit cold?" The three of them glanced at each other.

"Boo!"

They all jumped. But not as much as Myrtle was probably hoping. After four years at Hogwarts it was hard to really surprise these particular Gryffindor students.

"Myrtle," Ron said, sounding a bit relieved. "So you were the one making it cold?" Myrtle huffed.

"You noticed that, didn't you," she said haughtily. "But when I wait in my toilet for you to come visit you're nowhere to be seen." She let out a small sob.

"Oh, jeez, Myrtle," Harry said, half exasperated and half apologetic. After all, life must be hard for a ghost.

"No, I get it, you don't like me," Myrtle said with a sob. "I should have expected it. Boys, they're all the same. They play with your heart, make you care, and then just discard you when someone prettier comes along. What's her name, Harry, hm? Who's the girl?" Ron rolled his eyes and Hermione shook her head exasperatedly.

"There's no girl, Myrtle," Harry assured her, trying to fight a blush at the very idea. "I just haven't been able to visit because of the cameras. It would look really suspicious if I was seen going into a girls bathroom." The attitude change in Myrtle was immediate.

"That damn witch," she scowled. "How I wouldn't like to haunt her until the end of her days, though I'd despise the company." She smiled down at Harry. "I knew you weren't avoiding me, Harry. You're such a good boy."

"Eh, yeah," Harry said awkwardly, trying to ignore the way Ron was sniggering behind his hand. "So, eh, yeah, I won't be able to visit for a while. Not until the cameras are gone at least."

"That's alright," Myrtle said cheerfully. "I'll just visit you here." Ron's eyes widened comically.

"Not the dorm room," he insisted. Myrtle pouted.

"Meet us down here," Harry agreed. "And make sure we're alone. You don't want to scare the other students." Judging by the look on Myrtle's face she'd like that very much.

"Okay, but if you try to avoid me Harry you know what'll happen." The first time Myrtle had visited him after the incident with the Chamber of Secrets she had hovered over his bed while he slept. It was an unpleasant experience Harry would rather not relive.

"I won't," he promised, with feeling. "You just have to be careful no one else sees you. How do you stay hidden, by the way?" Did she just stay in her bathroom the whole time?

Myrtle looked pleased.

"Oh, it's brilliant, Harry," she crooned. "I can turn invisible, just like that, and no one will ever know that I'm watching them, listening in to their conversations. Oh, the things I've heard."

"Creepy," Ron commented warily. Harry, however, was thinking.

"So you can listen in on anyone?" He asked, frowning. "No matter who or where they are?" Hermione and Ron looked at him in confusion.

Myrtle nodded. "Nothing can stop me following them," she confirmed. "The physical world does not constrain me like it used to."

"And can you travel anywhere?" Harry asked, starting to get excited. "Are you just stuck in the castle or…" Hermione's eyes widened. It seemed she had picked up on what he was getting at.

"On no, I can go anywhere," Myrtle told him. "I used to fly all around the world when I was just a young ghost." She got a manic look on her face. "I was haunting Olive Hornby, you see. She'd teased me about my glasses, just before I died, so I was determined to get back at her. Oh how she tried to escape me, moving house every few weeks in an attempt to shake me, but I was not to be deterred. She even hired an exorcist to try and get rid of me." Myrtle let out a derisive laugh. "As if that would work. But then they put her in a home and it wasn't so fun anymore, so I returned to the school and my toilet, never to haunt again."

"Eh, that's great," Harry said uncertainly. He hadn't really contemplated what it meant to be on first name terms with a ghost but he was sure now more than ever that he didn't want to get on Myrtle's bad side. "I have a favour to ask you."

He had never thought this was possible, never even entertained the idea that they could do something to take the fight to the Ministry and play it on their own terms, but with the ghost of a young girl, one who the Ministry had failed by letting her killer go free, on their side it was so incredibly possible.

Myrtle looked gleeful.

"I'd love to," she said, looking flattered that he had asked. "Oh it will be so cool, spying on Umbridge. I'd be like a secret agent. Oh, do I get a codename?"

"Ghost," Ron suggested with a grin. Usually Myrtle would take umbridge but she was just so completely carried away by Harry's idea that all she did was nod gleefully.

"Alright, Agent Ghost reporting for duty," she said excitedly, saluting before breaking down in giggles. "Oh, this will be so fun."

"Just remember not to get too carried away," Harry warned. "You can't let Umbridge know you exist, otherwise she'll have the whole Ministry down here to try and stop you."

"I'd like to see her try," Myrtle challenged.

"You must be cautious," Hermione argued. "If anyone can find a way to stop you it will be the Ministry. They have the resources of the entire country to work with." Myrtle rolled her eyes.

"Alright, don't get your pigtails in a twist," Myrtle told her.

"I don't have pigtails," Hermione mumbled quietly.

"I'll keep a low profile," Myrtle assured them, having not heard Hermione's mutter. "I'll start small. You know, cold rooms and ghostly noises."

"And don't overdo it," Harry added. "If you can overhear anything important that'll be so much more useful than just freaking out Umbridge."

"Though a lot less funny," Ron countered. Myrtle giggled.

"Alright, alright, I'll behave," she told him, grinning happily at the thought of the mayhem she could cause. "I'll go get started right now, in fact. Just a quick question. Who's that?"

Together Harry, Ron and Hermione turned. They'd thought they were alone. There had been no sounds to indicate that wasn't the case.

But they were wrong.

Gallade stood behind them, silent as the night and watching patiently. Who knew how long he'd been standing there but he'd been waiting for them and Harry had a suspicion he knew what for.

"We have to go," Harry said, turning back to Myrtle. "Don't mention any of this to anyone." And with that Myrtle's surprised expression morphed into that of Harry's godfather, Sirius Black.

"Sirius." Harry threw himself forward upon appearing in the abandoned classroom, wrapping his arms around the man who responded with equal enthusiasm. How Harry had missed him, after two months apart it seemed like an eternity since they'd said goodbye at Grimmauld Place.

Eventually they pulled apart.

"Hey there, pup," Sirius said with a grin. "Missed me?" Harry just smiled.

"Sirius, what are you doing here?" Hermione and Ron had stood back and waited while Harry and Sirius reunited, Gallade standing silently by their side, but now that the moment was over Hermione's worries kicked in.

"Why, I'm here to see my Godson, aren't I," Sirius pointed out. "Great match, by the way. Love beating Slytherin."

"You watched the match?" Harry asked, astonished.

"From a distance," Sirius admitted. "Gallade here was able to mask my presence but even then if I was in the crowd someone would have bumped into me." He turned to Ron. "Great work by the way. Congrats on Machop evolving."

Ron's thanks were cut off by Hermione.

"Sirius, this is incredibly dangerous," she told him sternly. "You realise you're the most wanted man in Britain right now."

"That's nothing new," Sirius told her, winking. Hermione grew flustered.

"You know what I mean," she said crossly. "The Ministry still think you are a Death Eater, the only Death Eater that got away, too. I'm sure they must have people working round the clock to capture you."

"They do," Sirius agreed. "Kingsley's leading the case."

Hermione huffed. "Kingsley can only do so much," she warned. "What if someone spotted you in the castle? What if someone saw you with us? Do you not realise how much trouble Harry would be in with Umbridge around?"

"Relax, Hermione," Sirius said, though he didn't look so pleased anymore. "I know what I'm doing. I had Gallade scout the castle extensively before I turned up. There are no cameras outside, I checked, and only the corridors and major classrooms are under surveillance. I can teleport in and out of this room and no one will be any the wiser."

"And besides," he said, straightening up. "I thought you'd want to hear a bit about what's going on outside Hogwarts." That caught their attention.

"What's happening?" Harry asked eagerly. "I know the Ministry still don't believe he's back but I haven't heard anything about Voldemort, even indirectly."

"That's because Voldemort is keeping a low profile," Sirius told him. "You're right, we've made absolutely no progress in convincing the Ministry he's back, if anything they're digging in even deeper in denial. And that suits Voldemort. The more time he can work under the radar the stronger he will be when the day comes for him to show himself."

"And in the mean time we're doing nothing," Ron said. "With the Ministry being idiots about it we can't even prepare properly."

"Quite right," Sirius agreed. "And it's even worse than that. As you know the Legion are trying to recruit and spread the word of Voldemort's return but it's not easy. People don't want to believe it, some have already been convinced Dumbledore's completely lost it, and now the Ministry are trying to put pressure on people to give up names of known Dumbledore sympathisers. They're worried, you see. They think Dumbledore is trying to take over. They think he's building an army."

Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a look.

"That's just about what Percy told me," Hermione admitted. Sirius nodded.

"He's right, but now the Ministry are really stepping it up. It's part of the reason for all this increased surveillance of Hogwarts."

"That's what we thought," Hermione agreed. "Or feared, really."

"The Minister is sure that Dumbledore is trying to recruit students straight out of Hogwarts and use his role here to ensure their loyalty," Sirius said. "Nonsense, of course, but considering his close relationship to you, Harry, you can understand why they're worried." There was of course the caveat that even the little sense the Ministry made was nothing in comparison to the lack of sense they were showing.

"So what are we doing?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," Sirius responded. "Or at least nothing new," he corrected. "We're still trying to spread the word, still trying to recruit, but at the moment the Ministry hold all the cards. Until Voldemort shows himself this is all we really can do." He sighed. "Of course, you guys are doing something about that anyway, aren't you."

It took a second for the three students to recognise what he was hinting.

"You know?" Harry asked, surprised. "Hagrid?"

"I haven't spoken to Hagrid since the summer," Sirius denied. "No, I heard through Aberforth. He's the barman at the Hogs Head."

"How did he know?" Ron wondered aloud.

"Through Madam Rosmerta, of course," Sirius said with a grin. "Dear Rosie never had much of a filter for her gossip and good old Abe was always surprisingly good at getting people to tell him things."

"And who will Abe tell next?" Harry asked hesitantly. Word about their secret group seemed to be spreading far beyond where they could contain it. If it went much further they'd have to simply pull the plug on the whole idea. With the new educational decrees it would be far too risky to go ahead.

"Don't worry, Abe won't tell anyone," Sirius said confidently.

"How can you be sure?" Harry persisted.

"Cause Abe is Dumbledore's brother," Sirius told them. "You didn't know that?"

The three of them were stunned. 'Dumbledore's brother?', Ron mouthed over to Harry in disbelief. There were just so many questions, so many things Harry wanted to learn in light of this new and unexpected information, but he pushed it aside for now. He had more important things to worry about.

"So you're sure he won't tell anyone?" Harry asked, determined to get an answer.

"Positive," Sirius told him. "Abe isn't a sociable chap and quite frankly most people forget about him. Shortsighted, considering who his brother is, but useful for us at least."

"So who does know about this?" Hermione asked. Sirius hesitated.

"Well, pretty much the whole Legion," he answered.

"I thought you said Abe was unsociable," Ron challenged.

"But the rest of the Legion aren't," Sirius countered. "Abe told one person and it spread like wildfire. In fact the story seems to have got a life of its own. I distinctly remember one junior Legion member insisting that you were going to attack Umbridge and make her disappear."

"Not a bad idea," Ron opined.

"I agree," Sirius grinned, though he hurried to correct himself under Hermione's disapproving look. "I mean about this whole battle club thing. I think it's good."

"You do?" Harry asked.

"Of course," Sirius insisted. "What better way to fight back than to help train your fellow students. Nothing will thumb its nose at the Ministry and Umbridge quite like you doing exactly what she doesn't want you to do."

"But that's not a good reason to do something," Hermione objected. Harry and Ron looked at her, surprised.

"This was your idea, Hermione," Ron pointed out. Hermione blushed.

"Yes, and I stand by it," she said quickly. "But the reason we do this should be to help people prepare and learn how to defend themselves against the Death Eaters. Annoying Umbridge shouldn't be our goal."

"Just a happy byproduct," Ron added.

"I'm just saying we need to get our priorities straight," Hermione said mutinously. "Otherwise there's no point going ahead with it."

"How are things going, then?" Sirius asked interestedly. "So far I haven't heard anything other than what you've planned at the Three Broomsticks."

"We're still working on it," Harry told him heavily. "We've found a place but we can't figure out a way to get thirty odd students there and back at the same time without Umbridge noticing, especially with all these cameras around."

Sirius sucked in a breath. "Yeah, that's a tough one," he admitted, furrowing his brow. "And I'm afraid I don't really have anything for you."

"If you can't figure out how to sneak around Hogwarts then who can," Ron pointed out. Sirius chuckled.

"I'm flattered," he admitted. "But I think my talents of trouble seeking pale in comparison with yours. You'll figure something out, I'm sure of it." Sirius stretched. "In the meantime your mother will just be glad to hear you aren't doing anything 'stupid and dangerous', at this moment at least."

Ron winced. "She not happy?" He asked, though his expression told everyone he knew the answer.

"Absolutely furious," Sirius said cheerfully. "Was in half a mind to go charging up to Hogwarts and talk some sense into you in person." Ron gulped.

"I can't imagine how she'll react when she hears about Fred and George," he muttered. Sirius's face darkened.

"Don't worry," he said seriously. "I'll put her straight." It seemed, like so many of the males in Harry's life, Quidditch was something Sirius found of utmost importance.

"I should go now," Sirius admitted, checking his watch. "I snuck out of Headquarters to come see you, Molly is probably getting suspicious. I'll come back and see you soon."

"Don't," Harry said. Sirius stopped dead in his tracks.

"Don't come back," Harry warned. "Hermione's right, it is far too dangerous. We've only been here a couple of months and already Umbridge has almost total control of the school. Who knows how many security measures she'll have installed next time you try to visit."

"I'll be careful," Sirius said with a frown. "I have gotten quite good at evading the Ministry, you know."

"I just don't want to take that chance," Harry told him, hating to think of not being able to see Sirius again for even more time. But it was better to wait than to watch Sirius be sent through the veil. "If something happens to you I don't know what I'd do. Please Sirius, it's not worth the risk. Please just stay safe."

Sirius didn't say anything for the longest of times. He stood, half turned away, his face in shadow, and did not say a word or move a muscle. Harry could only wait with bated breath for his response, hoping that he understood and saw it his way. He could not stand for Sirius to be mad with him. The only thing worse would be for Sirius to get caught.

Eventually Sirius let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped.

"Alright, Harry," he conceded. "I'll stay away. But just know you can't protect me, that's not your job. I'm still going to be going out there, doing work for the Legion, and at times it will be dangerous." Harry nodded. "I'll see you at Christmas, all of you. You'll come to Grimmauld Place. Until then…" He tailed off and nodded to Gallade. A moment later they were back in the common room, as though they'd never left, and Gallade was gone.

They settled back down into their seats, completely silent. The only sound in the room was the tick tock of the grandfather clock and the crackling of the dying flames in the fireplace.

"Christmas," Ron said eventually, looking towards Harry. "It won't be long. We'll see him soon."

They would, Harry knew, and that gave him comfort as he felt himself start to unwind again. Sirius understood and that was enough for now. And soon enough they'd be together again for a whole two weeks. Until that time there was still work to do, both school and extracurricular. He had a month and a half until he saw Sirius again, he better make good use of it.


	17. Daphne Greengrass

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

"Really Potter, the egg is not going to hatch by you staring at it."

Harry lifted his head from where he'd been resting it on his hands and looked up at Madam Pomfrey.

"Why not?" He asked. Madam Pomfrey gave an exasperated sigh and went back to restocking the supply cabinet. It seemed the only reason she was allowing him to stay was because she was busy.

With a sigh Harry sat back, one hand automatically falling on the chain around his neck. The key stone, for that was what it surely must be, was often on Harry's mind. In Pokémon Physiology they were still studying Mega Evolution, and apparently would be all year, and every time he sat in McGonagall's class he thought about the chain around his neck.

He hadn't brought it up with Sirius during their encounter, and was kicking himself for forgetting, but he'd simply been too surprised to see him to remember something so unconnected to the day's events. Now he would just have to wait until Christmas, yet another reason why he wanted this term to end.

At the moment, just a few days after the fateful Quidditch match, Harry was, of course, in the Hospital Wing, watching the egg he'd transported there only two months prior. It had been a while since he'd seen it, he hadn't visited since Umbridge had had the cameras installed and made going anywhere secretly all but impossible. Fortunately there had been no change to the condition of the egg. It looked exactly as it had the first time he'd seen it at number twelve Grimmauld Place.

"When will it hatch?" Harry asked, returning his head to resting on his hands and peering up to where Madam Pomfrey was working. She sighed.

"Who knows," she responded, not turning to look but at least slowing down enough to think before she spoke. "Eggs hatch at a variety of rates and you cannot estimate without knowing exactly which species of Pokémon will hatch from it."

"And you don't?" Harry continued to question.

"It is possible to tell," Madam Pomfrey admitted. "An expert could spend five minutes examining the egg and tell you exactly which Pokémon would hatch from it. I, unfortunately, do not have those skills, though I can make some educated guesses."

"Like what?" Harry asked, watching her. Madam Pomfrey paused and then set down the potions she was holding, moving over to the cushion on which the egg lay.

"The egg is a brown colour," Madam Pomfrey noted. "That normally implies that the Pokémon will have a similar colouring. For example Mudkip eggs are blue, as are Wooper and Azurill."

"Norbert's egg was blue," Harry remembered. "It even had those splotch marks the same colour as his head… thing." Trying to describe the armoured growth that extended from Bagon's forehead to its upper back was surprisingly difficult.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "And since this egg is brown we can imagine that the Pokémon that hatches will most likely be brown too," she said. "Perhaps it will be a ground type. The shade is quite similar to a Sandshrew or a Hippopotas. But then it could also be a normal type, like a Buneary, or maybe a flying type like Pidgey or HootHoot."

"And it depends on which one it is how long it'll take to hatch?" Harry asked. Pomfrey nodded.

"Indeed. For a Pokémon like Pidgey the egg wouldn't take long at all, perhaps it would have even hatched by now given we don't know exactly how old the egg is. For a Pokémon like Buneary it would take longer, around a medium time frame, and for a Pokémon like Hippopotas it would take longer still. Given we don't know what point in the egg cycle it was when Mr Lupin discovered it, as well as natural variation in gestation periods within species, it seems highly unlikely we could predict when it would hatch, even if we did know which Pokémon to expect."

"You should be getting on, Potter," Madam Pomfrey finished, fixing a stern look on him. "Your classes will be starting shortly and if I'm not mistaken you haven't had lunch yet." Harry nodded guiltily. "Alright then, out. Off to the Great Hall with you."

Harry left the Hospital Wing with no small amount of reluctance, treasuring the time he spent with the unresponsive egg and aware of how few opportunities he would have to do so again with Umbridge breathing down his neck.

But Madam Pomfrey was right. Classes would begin shortly and now that he thought about it he was starving, which prompted him to break out into a brisk walk as he attempted to reach the Great Hall before they stopped serving food.

Already there were some students going in the other direction, heading back to their common rooms to drop off or pick up their bags, but Harry paid them no mind, not until one of them bumped harshly into his shoulder, causing him to stumble.

"Watch it, Potter," Daphne Greengrass sneered. The blonde girl, a Slytherin in Harry's year, had her eyes narrowed on him before she let out a haughty huff and turned away, striding off with her head high and leaving him alone in the corridor, confused.

It took a moment for Harry to react, completely caught off guard, but when he did his destination had changed. There was still time to get some food, though he'd probably have to pick it up and go, but his thoughts led him instead to the first floor boys bathroom. A couple of sixth year students were washing their hands by the sinks and one of the cubicles was occupied. Harry took the remaining one and locked the door behind him.

Daphne Greengrass was something of an unknown to Harry, despite having had classes with her for over four years now. Their conversations up to this point were limited to asking each other with forced politeness to pass over plant pots in Herbology or Leppa berries in Potions. Harry really didn't know her at all.

All in all her harsh words were not unexpected, in fact they very nicely fitted in with the personality of the stereotypical Slytherin. Rude, uncaring, particularly if the victim wore a Gryffindor tie, the exchange was similar to many others Harry had witnessed and indeed experienced over the years.

Yet, Harry thought as he sat down on the toilet lid and looked at his hand, this was entirely different. For the harsh words and the bumped shoulders weren't the entirety of Harry's encounter with Daphne Greengrass. There was a third factor, and it was scrawled on the tiny scrap of paper the girl had shoved into Harry's hand as they collided.

'Meet me in the library. We need to talk.'

The note didn't mention a time but Harry was convinced this message was of the urgent variety. After all, for what reason would a Slytherin make contact with a Gryffindor, and him for gods sake, unless it wasn't very, very serious.

The slamming of a cubicle door broke Harry's thoughts as his neighbour finished his business and Harry hurriedly scrunched up the paper in his hand and, after a brief thought, slipped it into the toilet below him. A flush later and no one would ever see what was written there again.

Harry slipped back the lock on his cubicle door and stepped out, checking his watch. If he headed to the library now he'd be cutting it fine for his next class but if he waited until later he might miss his opportunity to find out what was going on. In the end Harry's curiosity got the better of him, as it so often did, and he made the decision then and there to see what Greengrass had to say.

"Geez, aren't you going to wash your hands?" The boy from the cubicle next to him, an older Ravenclaw, was watching Harry with a mildly disgusted look on his face.

"I was just blowing my nose," Harry said hurriedly, jumping to an excuse. The boy didn't look convinced, still looking at Harry suspiciously, but he didn't say anything and so Harry was able to leave the bathroom without further interruption and head up towards the opposite end of the school.

The corridors were more busy now, students preparing to travel to their next class, some of them already on their way if said class was Fortune Telling or Pokémon Care at the two extremes of the castle. In general the traffic was moving away from the library, though not at a stream that troubled Harry as he slipped inside and cautiously looked around.

A first inspection turned up nothing. Either Daphne Greengrass wasn't there or she'd taken up a place deeper into the room, perhaps down an aisle or even all the way back in the restricted section. Again doubts filled Harry's mind as to whether he should really be here, now thoughts that maybe Daphne was playing some sort of unusual joke on him to make him late for his next class. It seemed unlikely but Harry didn't know Daphne Greengrass. Maybe she just had a weird sense of humour.

"Psst, Potter," the whisper caused Harry to jump. "Act normal." Acting normal was pretty much the hardest thing she could possibly have asked of him in that moment.

He'd walked a decent way into the library, and was standing next to an aisle of books, study tables set out on his other side. No wonder he hadn't been able to spot Daphne, she had hidden herself halfway down the aisle on the opposite side of the bookcase, dwarfed by the mountains of books on either side.

"Pretend you're looking for a book," her voice spoke again. Harry glanced around, trying to appear casual, and then pulled out a book from the shelf and opened it to a random page, pretending to read.

He glanced up. A brilliant blue eye stared out at him from behind the bookshelf.

"Put the book down," Daphne ordered as Harry allowed his gaze to drop back to the book. He obeyed, closing it and slipping it back into place, obscuring Daphne once more. "Now come into my aisle. Act natural."

Harry did as he was told. He trailed his finger across a line of titles on the shelf he was standing at, halfheartedly reading them, before he meandered along to the end of the aisle and turned the corner. Glancing around lightly, ensuring no one was paying attention, he slipped into the next aisle.

Daphne was standing before him, arms crossed as she surveyed him coolly.

"So, you got my message."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You put it right in my hand," he reminded her. Daphne scowled.

"The cameras won't be able to see you here," she told him, gesturing to the bookcase to her right, through which they'd just conversed. "No one will know we're meeting."

"Unless they hear us and walk over here," Harry pointed out. Even as he said this he found his voice dropping to try and avoid such an eventuality. He didn't know what was going on but all this cloak and dagger stuff made him think it was important. "Why am I here?"

"I needed to talk to you," Daphne said simply. Harry let out an annoyed sigh.

"I know that," he said exasperatedly. "But what about? We don't speak, ever." Again Daphne scowled, though now Harry realised it was because of whatever she wished to discuss with him rather than Harry himself.

"We don't have long," Harry reminded her. "We both have Physiology, remember. People might wonder why we're both not there." That seemed to prompt Daphne forward. Whatever else she wanted she did not want people to know this conversation took place.

"I require your assistance," she told him and Harry's eyebrows rose. "My family remained neutral during the last war and the Dark Lord left us alone. I don't anticipate the same holding true this time around."

"So you believe he's back?" Harry said, seeking to clarify. "I am surprised you believe me."

"Most of the Slytherins believe you, Potter," Daphne said coolly. "You're a goody two-shoes who wouldn't know how to lie. And what with Malfoy crowing about his father's new status we have front row seats to all the evidence we need."

"You Slytherins are weird," Harry commented warily. Goody two-shoes? Was that really what they thought of him?

"I am certain Gryffindors are worse," Daphne countered. Harry couldn't exactly deny it. "Anyway, the Greengrass family will have to decide where their loyalties lie and, though it pains me to admit it, those loyalties lie with you." Harry was shocked.

"Why?" He questioned, looking at her as though she was crazy. Daphne scowled.

"Not because of any degree of confidence in your abilities I can assure you," she sneered. "But I've heard enough stories to hear what loyalty to the Dark Lord is like. I refuse to live as one of his marked followers and I even more refuse to allow Astoria to share that fate with me."

"Astoria," Harry repeated.

"My sister," Daphne said simply, answering that which wasn't exactly a question. Harry had been aware of the younger Greengrass sister but her mention by Daphne was awfully telling.

"So what do you say, Potter?" Daphne said crisply.

"I'm guessing this is your idea," Harry said in response. "Your parents, do they even know you're doing this?" Daphne looked hesitant. That was all the answer Harry needed. "How can you claim your family's loyalties for anyone if your parents don't even know about it?"

Daphne let out an agitated breath and pulled her hair roughly over her shoulders. "Then I do it for me," she said simply. "For myself and Astoria I pledge loyalty to you. I'll talk to my parents later but for now all I ask is your protection for Astoria should she need it."

"Of course," Harry said immediately. He didn't even have to think about it. He'd had mixed feelings about this meeting, naturally suspicious of anything that had a Slytherin's fingerprints all over it, but all Daphne wanted to do was protect her sister. That was something he could understand, even though he had no sister, or any family left. He would do the same for Ron or Hermione, or Sirius or Remus, or Fred, George, Neville, Ginny, Luna. And now that he'd promised it he'd do everything he could to keep Astoria, and Daphne too, safe.

Daphne was rather taken aback by his quick response. She floundered for a moment, showing a lack of composure so unusual for her. "Well, then, I'm grateful." She bowed her head slightly, perhaps out of awkwardness and an inability to think what to do. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," Harry said, again automatic. "Your sister hasn't done anything wrong. Of course I want her to be safe." Daphne nodded stiffly. It seemed she was wary of a catch.

"I know loyalty is not just something I can give in name," Daphne said in a stilted tone. "My skills and abilities are yours, for whatever you may need them for." Now it was Harry's turn to feel awkward.

"Well, eh, thanks but I'm…" but then he stopped. Actually, there was something Daphne could do for him. And the puzzle pieces fell so neatly into place Harry couldn't believe his luck.

"Daphne, am I right in saying you have a Gardevoir?" He asked intently. Daphne nodded, looking slightly confused. "Excellent, well…" The bell rang.

"Damn," Harry muttered, glancing at his watch. "Okay, well, I'll explain later," he said hurriedly. "Just meet me tomorrow after dinner in the fifth year Gryffindor boy's dormitory."

"What?" Daphne asked, bewildered.

"Just teleport in with Gardevoir," Harry said quickly, aware he was running short on time. "I'll make sure the coast is clear, just be there. I'll see you later."

"Wait," Daphne said as Harry turned to leave. She held out a book. "This will help with your Physiology homework. You'll just look suspicious if you disappear down here with nothing to show for it."

Daphne, it appeared, had prepared for this meeting. Really prepared.


	18. Tryouts Again

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Ron and Hermione, predictably, did not react well to the news.

"It's a trap," Ron said immediately. "She's going to rat you out."

"Umbridge must have put her up to it," Hermione agreed. "That's the only explanation."

"It's not a trap," Harry insisted, rather annoyed by his friends' reactions. Did they not trust him to be suspicious?

"How can you be sure, Harry?" Hermione asked. "For what reason do you think Daphne Greengrass would possibly want to help you?"

"She gave me her reasons," Harry defended.

"And you believe them?" Ron asked incredulously. "Harry, she's a Slytherin. You can't trust her, she'll only sell you out."

"Not all Slytherin's are bad," Harry argued. Ron scoffed.

"Yeah, right, next you'll be telling me Malfoy is just misunderstood," Ron retorted. "Face it, Harry, there is not a single Slytherin who has ever been looking out for anyone's interest but their own."

"You mean like Peter Pettigrew," Harry said sharply. "Oh, right, he was a Gryffindor. So I guess it's fine that he's out there on the loose and my parents are dead." That shut them up. That shut them up big time.

"Harry," Hermione said, her voice softer this time as she attempted to salvage the situation. But Harry wasn't having any of it.

"We've got to go," he told her, standing up. "Quidditch tryouts." Hermione didn't look happy but she didn't complain. Harry guessed she had realised they'd gone too far.

"And for the record I think it's about time the two of you kept an open mind," he added, fixing a stern gaze on both her and Ron. "I know Daphne's reasons and I trust them. And if I'm wrong and she is trying to double cross me then better she does it now rather than wait until Umbridge has even more power. You don't have to be there Hermione, I'll meet her alone if I have to, but this is our chance. I'm not going to let it slip away." And with that he left.

Ron was quiet as they walked down in the darkness towards the Quidditch pitch. It was November and now that the clocks had changed night was falling much earlier, before even their afternoon classes were finished. Still, habit led them safely down to the Quidditch Pitch without fuss until Ron stopped them short, just outside the stadium.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said back there," he muttered, keeping his voice low as he heard the sound of chatter from inside the changing room. "Hermione too. We just want to be cautious, that's all."

"I know that," Harry said, slightly exasperatedly. "But Daphne…" Ron waved him off.

"If you trust her then I do," Ron told him, and Harry was struck by the sincerity with which he said it. "We'll be there, both of us, when Greengrass comes over. We're by your side Harry, always."

Nothing more was said on the subject as Harry and Ron entered the changing room, the last of the remaining team members to do so. They changed quickly, the three Chasers leaving them after a few moments, before they followed them out onto the Quidditch Pitch.

The atmosphere was different than it had been during the original tryouts at the start of the year. Admittedly it was a similar situation, with only one position, although two places, up for grabs, but the circumstances couldn't have been more different. For one thing visibility was so terrible that only with the floodlights on, the ancient devices taking an absolute age to warm up, could Harry see the whole field.

The attitude of the trialists was different too. Before there had been a lot of excitement among the hopefuls as they went after the position of Keeper with all they had. This time around, whether due to the cold weather, the events of the last game, or some sort of guilt or fear of taking over the position of Fred and George, the energy was much more subdued this time around.

Everyone else was already out on the field. The trialists, like before, were huddled off to the side, staying close to each other to try and retain some heat, while the three Gryffindor Chasers stood in a circle in the middle of the pitch. Fred and George, dressed in plain clothes, wandered over to them.

"So you came," Harry said as they approached. "Lee was worried you'd skip tryouts altogether."

"Might as well have," Fred scowled. "Angelina has been right short with us all week. Good thing you guys turned up or we'd have no one to talk to."

"She still holding it all against you?" Harry wondered.

"Definitely," George said. "You should see her in class. She doesn't speak a word to us, pretends like we don't even exist."

"But it wasn't your fault," Ron said passionately. "You were only doing what we would have done if we'd been down there."

"Yes, well, thanks for the support but it would be best to keep your voice down, unless Angie hears you," George told him, glancing carefully over his shoulder. "No need for her to be mad at you guys too, the team's already suffered enough."

"That's why we're here, of course," Fred added. "Some expert opinion on Beating, since it's none of your expertise. I don't know if there's anyone good, we haven't been challenged since we got our place in the team, but hopefully we'll be able to find replacements good enough to keep that cup in McGonagall's office."

"Too right," Ron agreed.

Their conversation was ended by Angelina calling them over.

"Team," she commanded, gesturing to them. "And only team," she added as she spied Fred and George walking their way. Harry sighed.

"Come on, Angelina, give it a rest," he said, ignoring the twins' advice.

"Not a chance, Potter," she said harshly.

"But we can use them."

"No, we can't," Angelina said angrily. "Their behaviour ensured that." She was not to be moved, as Harry had suspected all along. Angelina, much like Wood before her, could hold a grudge, especially when it came to Quidditch.

"We'll be on the sidelines," Fred told Harry, clapping him on the shoulder as he passed and walking right past Angelina as though she weren't there. Angelina returned the favour, not giving even a hint of acknowledgment of his presence. From behind her back George rolled his eyes.

"Lets get started," Angelina said brusquely, brushing away the incident as though it hadn't even happened, leading the team across to where the prospective applicants were standing. A hushed silence fell as Angelina stopped before them, the team fanning out behind her.

"It's cold," Angelina said simply. "And dark. So lets not waste time. If you aren't serious then go now. If you are then listen to every word I say, got it?" There was silence from the crowd. Angelina nodded in satisfaction.

"The tryout will be separated into two parts," Angelina told them. "The first is designed to test your ability to influence Chaser play. Hitmonlee, Hitmontop and Lopunny will take the Quaffle and attempt to score against Machoke. Your objective is to protect the goal and prevent us from scoring to the best of your abilities. Ashby, we'll start with you."

The trial was short, efficient, and uninspiring. Each of the applicants waited patiently for their turn and each of them proved incapable of throwing a wrench into the well oiled machine that was Hitmonlee, Hitmontop and Lopunny.

It wasn't exactly easy, the three Chasers were monumentally talented, but even with that caveat the performance was still hopeless. On more than one occasion one of the Chasers was allowed to simply take the Quaffle forward on their own and shoot, with absolutely no interference. Needless to say the idle applicants got plenty of exercise fetching the Quaffle after every time it flew smoothly through one of Machoke's mostly unguarded hoops.

Angelina was far from happy.

"Part two," she said, not even bothering to tell the final applicant that they were finished. "You will attempt to help Weasley's Pidgeotto beat Potter's Talonflame to the snitch. This will test your ability to disrupt an opponent's Seeker. Without such an ability we'll never win."

She levelled a steely glare at the group. "I trust you'll put a better showing into this than you did the last drill." The applicants looked incredibly nervous.

Harry, on the other hand, was completely relaxed. Part of that was because he knew it didn't matter if he got to the snitch or not, and not getting there would actually be a good indicator, but an even bigger part was that after the first few applicants it became clear that he was never going to lose.

When the toughest obstacle in catching the snitch is an inexperienced Pidgeotto you know something's going wrong. Not to say Pig wasn't putting up a good fight, he was scrappy and inventive, but Talonflame was by far the better flier and Pig didn't stand a chance without help. And it didn't seem like he was getting any help at all.

Angelina called them in.

"Well this is bullshit," was her frank assessment. "We can't go on like this. Not one of them is fit for this team."

Harry always tried to be an optimist in situations like this but, as he watched the trialists begin their journey back up to the castle, he realised there really was no silver lining. They were all terrible.

"So who do we pick?" He asked instead. "Did any of them stand out?" The team shared glances.

"I suppose Jumpluff had some effect," Katie suggested hesitantly. "It did better than any at stopping Talonflame, right Harry."

"Jumpluff just took up space," Harry argued, shaking his head. "It was way too slow. It tried to use Stun Spore and nearly hit Pig instead."

"Potter's right," Alicia said quietly. "Jumpluff would be a disaster."

"They would all be a disaster," Angelina retorted angrily. "We're looking for the one that will be the least disaster so we can fight our way through."

"You mean the two that would be the least disaster," Ron spoke up. "We have two spots open. And while we're at it why don't we actually ask Fred and George what they think. You know, they are the experts." Angelina pursed her lips.

"No," she said sharply. "I do not want either of those idiots anywhere near my team."

Katie sighed. "Come on, Angie, you've got to let this go," she said, half sympathetically but with a lot of agitation. "George didn't even do anything."

"He would have," Angelina said harshly. "And they're not part of the team anymore. I'm the captain, it's my decision."

"Well it's a stupid decision," Katie retorted. Harry's eyebrows rose. He had never heard Katie talk like that before.

"And you think you can do better," said Angelina hotly. "Why, you can be captain. Have a go sorting this mess out. And then when we lose to Ravenclaw we can hold another tryout for your position."

"Angie, Katie, please," Alicia whispered anxiously, stepping between the two teammates and looking overwhelmed. "We mustn't fight."

"Alicia's right," Harry spoke up and all three girls turned to him. "We can't turn on each other. Angelina, involve them or don't involve them but know this team thinks they can still help. Katie, it's Angelina's decision. Whatever she decides is final. Got it."

Both girls looked awkward. It seemed like they were starting to regret their actions.

"Sorry, Angie," Katie said quietly.

"It's okay," Angelina replied hoarsely. It seemed like her voice had gone. "Maybe I should be including Fred and …" She was cut off as she spotted just the people she'd been talking about and her attitude changed immediately.

"Fred, George, what do you think you're doing?" She demanded as the two jogged up to them.

"Steady on, we're not interfering," George said quickly, trying to head off Angelina's ferocious temper.

"Yeah, we just have another applicant," Fred added, coming to a stop beside his twin. That caught everyone's attention.

"Really?" Angelina asked, anger temporarily forgotten. "Who?" And from out behind her twin brothers stepped Ginny Weasley.

"Ginny?" Ron gasped, mouth hanging open.

"Another Weasley?" Was Angelina's response. Despite himself Harry felt his lips twitch.

"A last minute entrant," Fred said. "And given what we just witnessed you could use it."

"Definitely," Katie said enthusiastically but Angelina cut her short.

"And where was she when tryouts started," she demanded, looming over the much smaller girl in a way that would be intimidating to anyone. Ginny merely looked a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry, I wanted to be here," she said earnestly. "I just had to give Michael the slip." Again Harry's lips twitched.

"Michael?" Angelina questioned. "Who's Michael?" This question gained the attention of the three Weasley boys, who leaned closer and stared intensely at Ginny. The girl rolled her eyes.

"My boyfriend," she said, shrugging off the theatrical gasps of dismay from Fred and George. "I really wanted to try out but he's from Ravenclaw, see, and I didn't want to let on I might be on the team."

Didn't want to give away the element of surprise, Harry finished in his head. He was impressed, and from the look on her face he could tell Angelina was impressed too. This was exactly the tactic Wood had used when Harry had joined the team.

"Can you play?" Angelina asked brusquely, now eyeing Ginny with much more interest. Ginny grinned.

"Just watch me."

If there was any suspicion that Ginny's confidence was a front or was otherwise misplaced it was quickly demolished when she took to the field. Her Pokémon of choice, Haunter, was a spooky customer and, at first glance, a lightweight. But as Hitmonlee, Hitmontop and Lopunny took possession of the Quaffle and headed towards Machoke's goal they were all shown Haunter's true power.

Silent as the night Haunter appeared and disappeared with nary a whisper. The three Chasers were thrown into disarray, dodging left and right, looping back on themselves as Haunter popped up often and unexpectedly. And though they did eventually score, Hitmontop skilfully firing into Machoke's right hand ring, that only came after many minutes hard grafting which included, at one point, Lopunny falling asleep. Even on the Quidditch Pitch Hypnosis could work its magic.

When it came time for Harry to do his part he approached it with a lot more focus. Ginny had proven herself tricky, much trickier than any that had come before her, and there was more than a decent chance that Talonflame could be caught out after a stream of weak challengers. He could lose, it didn't matter, but both he and Talonflame were too proud to allow that to happen.

Talonflame took to the sky, Pig joining him a second later. They waited for the whistle.

"Three, two, one," and they were off, and so too was Haunter.

"Confuse Ray!" Ginny called, right off the bat, and as he had done many times before Haunter materialised right in front of his target.

"Dive!" Harry responded immediately. He'd seen that move too many times to fall for it.

Yet it was still effective. While Talonflame dodged the attack, with room to spare, he was forced out of his flight path and, for the first time, Pig got to the snitch first.

"Ember!" Harry called and Pig was forced to arc away, flying right and further from his goalpost. It was only a momentary respite as Harry knew it wouldn't delay him for long, and Haunter was already back.

"Shadow Ball, Haunter!" Ginny cried and Harry was taken aback by the direct attack, Ginny having relied on status effects up until that point. It worked, Talonflame only just dodging the brunt of the attack as the Shadow Ball graze his spine, and again Pig was able to make progress back towards his own pole.

"Flame Charge, Talonflame!" Harry called. The speed boost was necessary, with Haunter's interference he couldn't get a clear run at Pig and so he'd have to go the long way round. "Now Ember, again!"

This time Pig was hit, and hit hard, and Talonflame was able to catch up.

"Hypnosis!" And Talonflame became drowsy. Like Lopunny before him he had not seen that coming.

Harry had to work quick.

"Flame Charge!" He called. It was a desperate effort, if Talonflame fell asleep it was all over, but it was enough. Talonflame caught fire, burning fiercely, and the fire did enough to clear up Talonflame's head as he set his sights firmly on Pig and charged.

"Good job!" Harry called as Talonflame connected, the snitch falling loose from Pig's talons. "Now catch it and bring it home!" Which was easier said than done. Talonflame did the first part, athletically plucking the snitch from midair, but the second part was where things went sour.

Haunter was there, every way Talonflame turned, and with the Hypnosis firmly on his mind Talonflame did not dare do anything else but turn away from the haunting ghost type. He was getting nowhere.

This was bad, Harry knew, for he knew there was only so long before Talonflame would unwillingly turn right into Haunter and be caught out. Then Pig would have no problems taking the snitch. He needed a plan.

And he got one. A bluff, sure, but Harry had learned in Quidditch that between equally matched opponents the difference was in the heads of the trainers. And Harry was the expert there.

"Talonflame, to me!" Harry called. "Fire Blast!"

Inexperience and overeagerness proved to be Haunter's downfall. Before Ginny had the chance to do more than widen her eyes and open her mouth Haunter materialised right in the path of the Fire Blast. He was no match for Talonflame's power.

"That's it," Angelina announced, not even waiting for Talonflame to hang the snitch on his pole. Haunter had not been able to take that last attack. He hung motionless in the air before the red light of a Pokéball pulled him back to safety. "I think we've seen all we need to."

And they had. In fact they'd seen it some time ago. There was no doubt, not even a shadow of it, that Ginny Weasley was by far the best applicant they could possibly have received.

Unfortunately there was only one of her.


	19. The Gathering

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Andrew Kirke was chosen as the second Beater, Angelina announced the following morning having taken the night to think about it. A Gligar trainer, he had come out ahead of his fellows by being able to have a Pokémon that could both fly and move in a direction not one hundred percent determined by the wind, although even that was a stretch for the ground and flying type.

But still, that was better than nothing, at least it should be, and the team were more than satisfied enough by their other Beater choice to overlook the unspectacular new member of the team. And with that sorted Harry was able to turn his attention back to the matter at hand.

Doubt coursed through his mind all day, his eyes constantly seeking out Daphne Greengrass against his will, in ways he was sure must be suspicious. By contrast she did not look his way once. She was much better than him at this. He just hoped he'd been right to put all of his eggs in her basket.

The moment of truth would be after dinner where the fifth year Gryffindor boys dormitory became the location of two nervous and three confused students.

"Good, you're here," Ron muttered as Hermione quietly entered the room. She didn't say anything in response. The nerves were getting to her too.

"Seriously, what the hell is up with you guys?" Seamus had had enough. For fifteen minutes he had sat there watching Harry and Ron sit in silence, saying nothing and doing even less.

Harry, Ron and Hermione glanced at each other. None of them could agree on anything to say.

"Wow, this is serious, isn't it," Dean said, sounding half shocked and half impressed. "What are you up to? It's a bit early in the year to be fighting You-know-who isn't it?" Ron let out a strangled laugh.

"You'll see," Harry said simply, too nervous to be amused. "Any minute now, hopefully." Dean, Seamus and Neville shared a look. None of them had any idea what to expect.

The arrival appeared suddenly, at the exact moment Harry started to worry that his plan had all been for naught, and every person in the room jumped. For three of them the surprise ended quickly when they saw who had appeared. For the other three it was only beginning.

"What the hell?" Dean asked wildly, physically backing away on his bed as though confronted with some sort of monster. Seamus had a similar response, except his words came out as a string of coarse and unrepeatable swears. Neville was so surprised he fell off his bed, hitting the floor with a loud thump.

Daphne Greengrass raised an eyebrow at the scene, looking less than impressed.

"So much for Gryffindor bravery," she drawled, sounding eerily reminiscent of Malfoy. Beside her was floating an elegant Pokémon of green and white, a Gardevoir, that had been her mode of transportation into the room. The two of them watched the Gryffindors with barely concealed contempt.

Her words, at least, had the effect of snapping the three put upon Gryffindors out of it. They each climbed to their feet, approaching her warily.

"What's she doing here?" Dean asked, aiming his words at Harry, Ron and Hermione but not taking his eyes off Daphne.

"I asked her to be here," Harry said softly, rising to his feet too. He'd been tempted to warn his dorm mates what was about to happen but had secretly hoped they'd just leave when he started to act mysterious. It would have made the situation a lot easier for him.

"Shit's sake," Seamus swore. "You asked her? You actually invited her in here without our permission?"

"She's here to help us," Harry said quickly, stepping forward in the hopes of heading off the brewing confrontation. "She can help us with… you know, our thing."

While not groundbreaking Harry's words did have some effect. Dean noticeably backed off, the pieces starting to fall into place for his more calm and logical mind. Neville, who had been reaching for a Pokéball, let out an audible sigh of relief. Only Seamus was left unconvinced.

"I'm not buying it," he snarled, pushing past Harry and walking straight up to Daphne. They were of similar height, Daphne above average for a girl and Seamus short for a boy, and when Seamus stopped mere inches from her they met face to face.

"She's a snake," he said, talking to the others but not turning his face away from Daphne. "You know what they're like. Double crossing bastards."

"I think you mean bitch in this situation, Finnegan," Daphne said icily. Despite being face to face with an irate irishman she was not standing down. If anything she seemed to rise to the challenge. "And I'd like to point out I've never double crossed anyone in my life. If I turn my back on someone I do it to their face. Only cowards and the weak blame their failures on those who succeed." Seamus growled.

"Brave words for a snake in the lion's den," he shot back. "Takes balls to call someone out when they can pulverise you in a second."

"I've got Gardevoir," Daphne said simply.

"And I've got five Gryffindors at my back," Seamus retorted.

"I can Teleport right out of here," Daphne countered.

"And if you do we'll hunt you down wherever you decide to hole yourself up," Seamus spat. "In a battle between the lions and the snakes I don't fancy your chances."

They fell silent with those words, staring each other down, refusing to so much as even blink, while Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dean and Neville watched on in apprehension. Then Seamus stepped away.

"So, what's this all about?" He asked Harry, his voice devoid of any of the vehemence of before. The turnaround took him by surprise.

"Eh, yeah, well, Daphne here has a Gardevoir," Harry explained, gesturing unnecessarily to the psychic and fairy type Pokémon that floated at the shoulder of a slightly confused looking Daphne.

"And Gardevoir can teleport," Hermione continued. "We've got a place where we can practice in secret and now with Gardevoir…"

"We have a way of getting there without Umbridge knowing about it," Ron finished.

"So that's what you're doing," Daphne said, a slight note of realisation in her voice. "A practice ground. You're starting a battle club." Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a look.

"Yes," Harry said, seeing no reason to lie. "We're not learning anything from Umbridge and meanwhile Voldemort," the whole room shivered, "is getting stronger by the day. We need to be able to defend ourselves and if we leave it to Umbridge…" Daphne nodded.

"Makes sense," she admitted. "But I want no part of it."

"Why?" Dean asked, looking perplexed.

"Because if word gets out I'm cavorting with Gryffindors it won't just be my neck on the line," Daphne said sharply. "It will be tantamount to declaring war on the Dark Lord and my family will be shown no mercy. It's easy for some, so far on the other side, but if my family lose favour in their social circle there's no way out."

"Which is why we're keeping Daphne's involvement a secret," Harry said hastily. "The fewer people who know she's involved the better. I trust you guys, I know you won't say anything, but I don't know about the rest of the group who showed up in the Three Broomsticks. I don't know who might betray us and rat us out for favour with Umbridge or as petty revenge. The least we can do is not drag everyone else down with us."

There were some glances shared among the fifth year Gryffindor boys but eventually they all nodded.

"But what about Gardevoir?" Neville asked worriedly. "Won't people worry where it came from?" It was a good point, one Harry hadn't thought about in his quickly drawn up makeshift plan, but fortunately someone else had the answer.

"I'll take it," Seamus said, waving it away as though the problem were nothing. "I'll say me mam got it for me and I'm embarrassed because it's too girly or something."

"You can make it work?" Daphne said doubtfully.

"You don't trust me, Greengrass?" Seamus challenged.

"Not even slightly, Finnegan," Daphne countered. Again they stared each other down.

Harry decided to intervene.

"Seamus can manage it," he announced, drawing all attention in the room back to him and away from the bizarre chemistry between Daphne and Seamus. "Will you help us?"

Daphne looked uncertain. She turned her attention from Harry to his dorm mates, focusing an extra long glance at Seamus, before eventually looking to Gardevoir and then back at Harry. She nodded.

"Whereabout do you need Gardevoir to take you?" She asked. Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"To the forest," he answered. "There's a clearing there we can use. We can go there now…" Daphne shook her head.

"I don't want to know," she said simply. "The less I know the better. Gardevoir will take you."

"Okay," Harry accepted. He could see where Daphne was coming from. He turned to Gardevoir. "Gardevoir, can you sense where I want to go?" He asked. "Can you read my mind?" Gardevoir gave a small nod. One second they were in the dorm, the next they were outside.

The clearing was a lot different under the cover of night. The air was much colder than it had been when Hagrid had first shown them the spot and the rocky walls were nearly obscured by the darkness that hung in the air. Twigs crackled underfoot and a couple of Linoone bolted from their hiding place.

"We'll have to figure out how to get some more light," Harry said, speaking only to himself, but as he did crackling flames sprung into being and floated through the air before him. He turned to Gardevoir, whose Will-O-Wisp attack was now lighting up the clearing. "Thank you."

It was far from perfect, there were still so many things he had to figure out and even more that could potentially go wrong, but despite it all a sense of excitement was building inside him. For a month they'd been left stranded, an idea to aspire to but no way to pull it off, but now it was time. The battle club would begin.

* * *

The first session was decided for the very next day. Harry was tempted to wait longer, to allow word to spread more easily through those who had expressed interest, but he was too excited to wait. To that end Hermione had risen to the challenge, spreading the word for them to be alone in their dormitories at eight o'clock, and it seemed that everyone who had been at the meeting in Hogsmeade had managed it.

They appeared in the clearing in small groups, transported by Gardevoir and Seamus, looking impressed.

"Wow, where the hell are we?" George muttered as he, Fred and Lee Jordan appeared.

"That's something you don't need to know," Hermione warned him. "You're not going to be walking away from here. Teleporting only." A plan to ensure secrecy in more ways than one.

It took awhile for everyone to arrive. Given the fact that the students were being transported from many different locations throughout the castle Gardevoir was forced to make many trips, and Harry imagined Seamus had to fend off a lot of questions with each one.

Finally they were ready, all gathered together under the starry sky. The natural light in the clearing was minimal, the moon high above them barely casting a glow down into the valley, but with her primary role fulfilled Gardevoir set about using Will-O-Wisp until the group was surrounded on all sides by floating balls of burning fire.

Hermione stepped forward.

"Well," she said, her voice slightly high from nerves. Everyone was watching her. "We're all here. So, now we can start. Erm, this is the place we'll be practicing. Uh, it's safe, hard to find. Gardevoir will take you all there and back."

"'Mione, just get on with it," Ron muttered, rolling his eyes behind her back. Hermione blushed pink.

"Yes, well, we all know why we're here," she said, gaining some confidence. "And so I'll just pass over to Harry to start us off. Erm…" she hesitated. A hand was raised in the air. "Yes?"

Nerves had already started to set in for Harry as the group had steadily grown bigger and bigger. Now it was dread as Zacharias Smith made himself known. This couldn't be good.

"Yes, well, I had a question about leadership," he said in a drawling voice. "I would have thought that would be first item on the agenda, before we start." Hermione flushed. She was taking his comments personally.

"I don't see why we need to," she said shortly.

"How shortsighted of you," Smith drawled. "If we are going to be a group then we need direction. A leader is essential."

"But we have a leader." It was Cho Chang who had spoken up, looking confused. "Harry's leader."

"Well, I'm afraid I must have missed the discussion where we decided that," Smith said coolly. "Had I been at said discussion, if it ever took place, I would have voiced my objections."

"Oh yeah," Ron spoke up angrily. "On what grounds?" Smith smirked at him.

"Why, the obvious ones, of course," he said smoothly. "Potter is a fifth year. There are several students here with a greater education in this subject, and most of us have been through the exact same classes. And if I recall Potter has never made it far in any of the battling tournaments. I just feel it would be unwise not to look into… alternatives."

"Screw you, Smith," Ron spat. He'd been geared up for a fight from the moment Smith had opened his mouth. He wasn't alone either. Fred and George were glaring daggers at the back of Smith's head, Colin and Dennis Creevey were looking shocked and appalled, while Ginny's face was as red as her hair.

"I just think it is only right for all of us to have the chance to put our name forward," Smith said with fake reason. "I for one would like to put myself up for nomination, if no one else is."

Nobody spoke. Tension hung palpable in the air.

Hermione looked desperately to Harry. If they didn't do something quickly it would be a bloodbath. Harry sighed, and stepped forward.

"Okay," he said simply. All eyes turned to him. "You want people to vote on this?" Even someone modest like Harry knew well enough that he'd win a popular vote by a landslide. It seemed Smith realised that too. He shook his head.

"It is not popularity that should decide who is best suited to lead this group," Smith told him. "But ability, that does matter. I propose a battle, one on one, for leadership of the group." An intake of breath was heard around the clearing at the challenge. Everything was silent.

Harry nodded. "Deal," he said, stepping forward and holding out his hand. Smith, with an unpleasant expression on his face, shook it briefly before dropping it as though he had just touched something disgusting.

It seemed the new battle ground was going to get its first real test, and it would be against Zacharias Smith that the fate of their rebellion would lie. Harry walked away, finding a patch of bare soil and calling it his mark, turning on the spot to where Smith had done the same.

Now to choose his Pokémon. It was a difficult choice, especially since he had no idea what sort of Pokémon Smith had. He'd seen them, of course, in class and around the school, but he'd never thought to pay any attention. Now he was regretting it.

And so his choice came down to which of his Pokémon was right for the part. He could use Talonflame and attack with speed and power from the sky, or he could go with Pikachu and overwhelm Smith with shocking speed and electrifying power. But in the end there was only really one choice.

It would be Charizard. It had to be. His starter Pokémon, his most powerful, was the only one for the job. Smith needed to see why Harry was who he was, what gave him the right to assume leadership over them, and so too did the rest of the students, even if they did not doubt him. He'd never shown them his true power but they'd need to see it to understand what they were up against.

And they would.

"Charizard, lets go!" Harry called, summoning his ferocious winged beast as Smith released his Pokémon at the other end. For a brief moment Harry did not know what it was, his sight obscured by his Pokémon and his hearing by his own voice, but then Charizard shifted and Harry got a good look at his opponent.

An Electabuzz. So Smith knew what he was doing after all. Everyone knew what Pokémon Harry had, with his fame they were often thrust into the limelight, and Electabuzz was the perfect counter to Harry's team. Smith must have planned it all. He set up this situation where he was a battle away from control over the group and he'd given himself the best opportunity to succeed.

It wouldn't be enough. There was a reason Harry had chosen Charizard. Type advantage went out the window when faced with such power.

Hermione stepped up to be the referee.

"This will be a one on one battle," she announced, looking slightly nervous as she eyed up the obviously suboptimal match up. "The match will end when either Pokémon is unable to continue. The winner shall be chosen to lead the battle group. Are the battlers ready?" Harry nodded. Across the clearing he saw Smith jerk his head. "Then let the battle begin."

"Electabuzz, Thunderbolt!" Smith yelled right off the mark. The electric attack was powerful, and would have done major damage had it hit, but Charizard simply dropped to all fours, the electricity flying harmlessly overhead, and let out a growl.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" A stream of fire erupted from Charizard's jaws, steaming through the air towards its target.

"Electabuzz, Protect!" The shield was raised with time to spare and the attack dissipated into nothing. An attack each and it was back to the status quo.

"Is that all you've got?!" Shouted Smith. It surprised Harry, he hadn't expected that sort of taunting from the Hufflepuff, but he didn't react. Smith had no idea what was coming. His words were only making things worse.

"Charizard, use Slash!" Harry called, sending Charizard barreling forward. He roared, pulling back a claw in preparation for the attack.

"Electabuzz, Thunder Punch!" Electabuzz mashed his fists together, electricity sparking between them, before winding up with one immense swing and throwing himself, electrified fist first, straight at Charizard.

The two attacks collided with enormous power and both Pokémon were pushed back from the blast, straining against the debris.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Dragon Rage!"

Harry had known Smith would attack with Charizard in at close range and unable to dodge and it allowed him to counter perfectly. The ball of fiery death that sprung from Charizard's jaws held back the electric bolt and then some, almost seeming to absorb the power from the attack. That was until the ball exploded and smoke obscured the battling Pokémon from view.

"Grab him!" Harry instructed, unable to see but knowing what he would when the smoke cleared.

With his command he didn't need to wait. As the smoke started to disperse Charizard flew out from above, Electabuzz clutched securely in his grip.

"Haha!" Smith cried. "I've got you now, Potter. Electabuzz, use Thunder!"

The attack was incredible, Harry had to give Smith that. It was beyond anything Pikachu had managed and Pikachu was no mug when it came to electricity. Lightning sparked in the sky, surrounding the two airborne Pokémon, and Charizard roared in pain. There were gasps from the ground, fearful that Smith might actually win. That Charizard would lose.

Harry had no such fear.

"Now, Charizard!" He commanded calmly. For Charizard was tougher than that and Smith had shown his hand.

Charizard's roar of pain became a roar of determination and his eyes opened wide, focusing down on the Pokémon in his arms that was the source of his suffering. Electabuzz looked up, a mixture of surprise and fear in his eyes, as he realised that this monster was one far beyond his ability to defeat.

"Sky Drop!" Harry instructed and Charizard roared, looping through the air and plummeting to the ground, tossing Electabuzz as though he was a rag doll onto the dirt beneath him. Electabuzz hit the ground hard, back first, and bounced, but he wasn't quite beaten yet and landed back on his feet, panting heavily.

"Protect!" The barrier sprung up just in time as Charizard's Flamethrower attack coursed towards him, the flames eagerly licking at the shield as Electabuzz struggled to hold it. Charizard's full power was on show now and it was clear that Electabuzz was no match.

"Earthquake!" Charizard stomped on the ground, sending the earth rumbling and catching everyone, not just Electabuzz, by surprise. Many of the spectators lost their footing, unable to keep balanced, and the target of the attack, Electabuzz, was knocked off his feet to land sprawled on his back.

"Blast Burn!"

No one had ever seen Charizard use this attack before. Harry had only seen it once. So none of them were prepared for the destruction that reigned as the ground beneath Electabuzz seemed to open up in an explosion of fire and brimstone. Patches of earth went everywhere, the previously unbalanced spectators now forced to search for cover, and fire engulfed Electabuzz's prone form. He was not surviving that. No Pokémon could.

After a while the attack ended. The ground settled. The spectators dared to come out from their hiding spots.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Electabuzz is unable to battle," she announced, rather unnecessarily. Smoke was rising from Electabuzz's prone form. "Harry will be our leader." There was no applause following the announcement. Harry didn't want any. He wasn't here to win favour or make himself feel good. He was here to help protect them, and now they knew that this was no game. This was real and they had to be ready to fight.


	20. Dumbledore's Army

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

With the battle now over everything started to settle down. The crowd of students regrouped, Smith returning his Electabuzz and ducking his head to avoid notice, and Hermione stepped forward.

"Alright, well we should probably start then," she said, slightly breathless after witnessing the battle that had taken place. Harry imagined she had not anticipated such a dramatic start to proceedings. "We'll start by splitting up into pairs."

"Hang on," Fred spoke up. "We can't start yet."

"Why not?" Hermione asked, bewildered.

"We haven't got a name," George pointed out, as if it was obvious. "You can't forget about that."

"Yeah, we've been working overtime on some ideas," Fred told her. "Want to hear them?"

"Do I?" Hermione questioned wearily.

"George, the list." George fished a sheet of paper from his pocket, unfolding it and straightening it out. Writing could be seen stretching over onto the back.

"Our first thought was Harry's Harem," George announced, much to Harry's embarrassment. "But Ginny shot that down. Something about not being child friendly."

"Thanks," Harry said, throwing a grateful look at Ginny. A ripple of laughter swept through the group.

"Our second one was Death To Umbridge," George continued in a businesslike tone. "Fairly accurate, I'd say. Firm, clear, stating our goals… "

"We're not killing anyone," Hermione said hotly, not amused. "The whole point of this group is to help each other learn since Umbridge refuses to teach us, not to commit murder."

"How about something a little softer then," Fred suggested, leaning over his brother's shoulder and scanning down the list. "Ah, this is a good one. Umbridge Haters United. U.H.U. for short."

"U.H.U.?" Hermione questioned carefully.

"Uhu," said Fred. It took a moment for Hermione to pick up on the joke and when she did she put her face in her hand. Not everyone was so quick.

"Uhu?" Dennis Creevey asked, peeking out from behind the tall form of Anthony Goldstein curiously.

"Right," George said. "Like if you're talking to your mate and you wanted to know if he was going to the meeting you'd say 'Going to the meeting tonight, mate?' And he'd say 'Uhu'." A few people laughed. Many copied Hermione's reaction.

Dennis frowned. "And what if they're not going?" He asked, as though not realising it was a joke. Fred and George grinned.

"Nuhu."

Hermione groaned.

"Why don't we call it something else," Cho suggested, thankfully pulling the conversation back to the matter at hand. "I think we should call it the Battle Association."

"What, Ba?" Ron questioned, head clearly elsewhere.

"Not Ba," Cho corrected. "Tba, like to be announced. That way we can get away with using it around other people." Ron raised an eyebrow.

"It is better than Uhu," he admitted.

"Nuhu," Fred and George said together, to the sound of laughs and faces hitting palms. Ron had really set them up there.

Hermione was annoyed. "Lets just avoid any of this codeword nonsense," she said sharply. "All we need is a name to be able to call ourselves. Something simple, that reflects what we're actually doing, and doesn't involve hugely convoluted backstories that are bound to get us caught."

There was silence for a moment, the group properly chastised and only now starting to put their minds seriously to the task. It was Ginny that spoke first.

"What about Dumbledore's Army," she suggested, her face serious. "After all, that's what the Ministry is so worried we are doing at Hogwarts, raising an army. We could call it the DA for short. Don't even think about it!" Fred had opened his mouth, presumably to make some sort of crack about the name, but stopped himself. He closed his mouth firmly under Ginny's blazing glare.

"The DA," Hermione said thoughtfully. "I like that. Simple, easy to remember. What do you think Harry?"

Harry nodded. "I like it," he told her. "Shall we do it then?"

Truthfully Harry didn't care one jot what the group was called, whether it was the DA or Uhu or Tba, but somehow the name felt fitting. Dumbledore had the Legion, his primary force to fight the war outside of Hogwarts' walls. Now he had something on the inside too.

"Shall we take it to a vote?" Hermione questioned. "A show of hands, who wants to be called Dumbledore's Army?"

A few hands rose at first before the rest followed, every single member of the group satisfied with the name. Hermione, having seen all hands raised, raised her own and turned to Harry. Harry nodded.

"So it's unanimous," he said. "We are Dumbledore's Army."

They didn't do much more that night, it had been eventful enough, but they did have time to split up into pairs for a battle, Dean's Hariyama and Seamus's Hawlucha being the last pair to wrap it up before the session ended. The group decided to meet at the same time next week for their first real meeting and then split up, Seamus and Gardevoir taking the DA members back in twos and threes as Harry, Ron and Hermione watched them go.

"So this is it," Ron muttered as the Ravenclaw fifth year boys disappeared. "It's really happening."

"No turning back now," Hermione said, her voice slightly anxious. "We're committed."

Harry wasn't worried. Yes, the stakes were high and if Umbridge got wind of what they were doing then they'd be in serious trouble. But Harry had always performed his best when the stakes were high and it was all on the line. His greatest achievements came when failure wasn't an option. And he would make sure this group, the DA, would be the greatest there ever was.

* * *

As the weeks went by Harry's excitement and delight with the DA grew and grew, and what's more it didn't seem like Umbridge had any clue as to what was happening. It was with tremendous satisfaction that Harry watched her stand at the front of the Pokémon Battling classroom with that smug, sickly smile on her toad like face with no idea that they were subverting her authority right under her very nose.

The meetings themselves were brilliant and had quickly switched from being weekly to twice weekly, and it would have been more had Hermione not pointed out that the more often they met the more likely they were to get caught. However, that did little to curb their enthusiasm.

At one meeting, the very first after that first night where they had officially formed the group, Harry set up a drill, one he felt highlighted what they needed to learn most from him.

"One of the most important things to remember when battling a Death Eater is that they do not view Pokémon battles the way we do," he announced to the group. They were lined up in front of him, spaced evenly across the clearing, each with a Pokémon at their back.

"Death Eaters do not measure a battle's success by the fate of your Pokémon, but by the fate of you," Harry continued. "If given the chance a Death Eater will attack you directly, not your Pokémon, and if they are successful they will claim the win, and you won't be able to claim anything."

"This drill is designed to train you to be just as aware of Pokémon attacking you as you are about them attacking your Pokémon. The situation is this: Behind you are Death Eaters. They are chasing you but you've got a head start on them. Over there," Harry jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Is safety. If you can get there you cannot be harmed. But in the way are more Death Eaters," he pointed to each side. On his left stood Ron's Wartortle, Neville's Dewott, and Colin's Bibarel. To his right stood Hermione's Buizel and, swimming in the shallows of the stream, Lavender's Gorebys and Parvati's Lumineon.

"These Death Eaters want you dead just as much as the ones behind you," Harry told them. "But you don't have the opportunity to stop and battle them. You do that and the Death Eaters behind you will catch up and you will have nowhere left to run."

"The aim is to get past me," Harry told them, holding out his arms to indicate an imaginary line, with him standing in the centre. "On your marks. Get set. Go."

The DA probably hadn't realised just how hard this was going to be until they'd tried it themselves. Michael Corner, thinking to beat the Pokémon to the mark, sprinted out in front of the pack. He was promptly hit by Buizel's Water Gun attack and fell flat on his back.

In the end no one made it successfully across. Nobody even came close. Fred and George showed some teamwork but they were stopped short half way across by Gorebys and Lumineon. Ron barely even got started, Wartortle focusing in on his trainer and giving Arcanine little chance of protecting him. Last to fall was Hermione, Misdreavus doing a good job deflecting attacks as they came, but once all other competitors were gone all six 'Death Eaters' focused in on the Gryffindor girl and she too fell short.

Harry hoped that this drill taught the DA just what they were meant to be learning here.

Of course it wasn't just drills that the DA indulged themselves in, particularly as they were quite hard to think up while including the whole group. Often much of the meeting time was devoted to individual Pokémon battling and the traditional form of training. It was during this, with Ginny's Chikorita taking on Ron's Wartortle, that something incredible happened.

Wartortle, more powerful than Chikorita despite the type mismatch, leapt into a Rapid Spin, easily deflecting Chikorita's Razor Leaf. Chikorita responded with a Vine Whip, sending Wartortle crashing into the ground, and with a triumphant cry started to glow. She grew and grew and suddenly the glowing stopped, and a Bayleef stood in her place.

Bayleef was only the first of many. Seamus's Monferno was next, evolving into a powerful Infernape, and then Fred and George's Magby and Elekid evolved into Magmar and Electabuzz simultaneously in battle with one another. The biggest one, in Harry's mind, was Pig, Ron's rambunctious Pidgeotto, evolving into a Pidgeot.

It wasn't all fun and games, as the Christmas holidays drew near. Perhaps sensing that something was going on at Hogwarts, though not knowing exactly what, Umbridge had become unusually active once more.

The first warning sign came when Umbridge was spotted in Professor Trelawney's tower-top classroom, an unusual place for anyone to be voluntarily, clipboard at the ready and sickly sweet smile on her face. It had been awhile since Umbridge had first done the rounds, interviewing teachers and watching them as they taught, and now it seemed she was back at it.

This was not too much of a concern, at least when it came to Fortune Telling. As far as Harry was concerned Trelawney was a hack and he couldn't remember learning much of anything in her class. If Umbridge were to suspend Trelawney it would be rather hard to argue with the decision.

What was a problem to Harry was Umbridge's presence down at Hagrid's hut at the next Pokémon Care class. Again she had her clipboard at the ready, scribbling down notes periodically as Hagrid did his best to ignore her and act normal. Whereas Trelawney was worthy of scrutiny Hagrid wasn't. He was a fantastic teacher.

Of course the worry was that Umbridge's decisions likely had little to do with actual teaching ability - she'd be the first to go if that were the case and Binns would be a very close second - but had a lot to do with loyalty. And it was widely known that Hagrid was unfailingly loyal to Dumbledore.

And so it was with relief, one morning as frost covered the castle grounds and Harry wandered down to the Great Hall for one of the last days of classes before the holidays, that it was only Trelawney that was put on probation, not Hagrid.

"Can't really say she doesn't deserve it," Ron muttered over breakfast, keeping his voice low to avoid being overheard by a distraught Parvati and Lavender. "I still don't know why Dumbledore hired her in the first place. Mind you, he did hire Lockhart."

"I'm just worried about what happens now," Hermione said anxiously. "There's no doubt that Umbridge wants to fire Trelawney, and she'll probably manage it too. But what about Hagrid?"

"Hagrid's a good teacher," Ron pointed out. "Not like Trelawney." Unfortunately this time he forgot to keep his voice down, earning him glares from down the table.

"But people don't trust Hagrid," Hermione said. Harry frowned.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione pointed out. "People think he was responsible."

"But we cleared his name," Ron pointed out.

"We said it was You-know-who," Hermione reminded him. "That argument isn't going to hold up well right now. And it doesn't really matter what the truth is, it's all about perception. Lots of people thought Hagrid was guilty and not all of them will be convinced that he's innocent, especially if they only have half the story."

"Yeah, but he'll be alright," Ron said, as though trying to convince himself as much as Hermione. "He's got Dumbledore looking out for him. No way is he getting sacked."

Harry hoped he was right. So far the power to hire and fire staff still seemed to lie with Professor Dumbledore, but with how much the Ministry had been able to take control over the last few months Harry wondered for how much longer that would be the case. Without Dumbledore's protection it didn't seem like Hagrid had much of a chance.

The post arrived, breaking Harry out of his depressing thoughts. He pulled himself together, turning his thoughts positive as he'd been so keen to do since the formation of the DA. They had one more session planned before everyone went home for the holidays and Harry thought that perhaps they could do something fun.

His hopes were dashed as Hermione opened up the morning's Daily Prophet and gasped.

"What?" Ron asked, orange juice having spilled onto his collar at the noise but ignoring it in favour of looking at Hermione. "What is it?" Hermione didn't say anything, she just moved a plate of toast out of the way and spread the Prophet out on the table.

The headline blared out at Harry.

 **Azkaban Mass Breakout!**

"Oh no," Ron moaned as the three of them crowded round. Around the hall Harry could hear others reacting to the news. There were cries of shock, yells of anger, and Harry heard someone who sounded distinctly like Seamus swear.

The reason for such a reaction was clear. Underneath this already horrifying headline were ten pictures, mug shots, that showed nine men and one woman, and Harry recognised the woman well.

Bellatrix LeStrange, the caption of the photo telling him even if he hadn't recognised her himself. The last time Harry had seen her, the only time as a matter of fact, she had looked in much better condition. She'd been young, and beautiful in her own deadly way. Now all of that was gone, claimed by Azkaban, and what was left could only be described as a feral animal.

But then again maybe that's what she'd always been. Her crime, the one that sent her to Azkaban in the first place, was so heinous that Harry could barely stomach just thinking about it. And the way she had been so accepting about what she had done, the torture of two good people, parents to a tiny baby boy, was horrifying.

Thinking of the scene in the courtroom from many years ago Harry's eyes flitted to the faces of the other nine prisoners. Sure enough he found Rudolphus LeStrange, Bellatrix's husband, right next to her, with his brother, Rabastan, sitting below.

"How could this happen?" Hermione gasped. Her eyes were wide and she was staring at the pictures with shock and horror. "How could they escape?"

"Sirius managed it," Ron muttered.

"But Sirius was one man," Hermione argued. "And he was innocent. This… this is something else."

Harry had nothing to say to that for Hermione was right, and so he instead turned his attention to the article, hoping it would shed some light.

He wished he hadn't.

 _The Ministry of Pokémon announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban prison._

 _Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Pokémon, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening._

 _'We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the mass murderer Sirius Black escaped,' said Fudge last night. 'Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and who else would be able to pull this off but the only man to have ever escaped the Azkaban Dusknoir. We think that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix LeStrange, have rallied around Black, no doubt encouraged by the false rumours that You-know-who is once again amongst us. We are doing everything we can to round up these criminals and if to return You-know-who to power is their goal then they will fail. In the meantime I beg the Pokémon community to be careful. On no account should any of these individuals be approached if you happen to see them'._

 _If sightings of any of these ten escapees or Sirius Black are witnessed then please contact the Auror office immediately._

"I can't believe this," said Harry, outraged. "They're trying to blame Sirius."

"And taking a potshot at you and Dumbledore while they're at it," Hermione added in disgust. "It's so typical of a politician to use something like this to score cheap points against their opponents."

"It won't work though," said Ron worriedly. "People will be able to see through this. With Death Eaters now out and on the loose people won't be able to keep sticking their head in the sand. The truth will come out."

Harry wished that were the case but at the same time he doubted it. Reading Fudge's words again he found they were so perfectly crafted. By pinning the blame on Sirius rather than Voldemort he had indirectly tied the breakout not just to the presumed lies Harry and Dumbledore were telling but also to the fact that it was under Dumbledore's watch that Sirius had been able to slip through the Ministry's grasp. It wasn't hard to see how people could come away from this article feeling that Dumbledore had lost his touch and be glad that it was the Ministry who were out searching for these people. They wouldn't find them, of course, not until it was much too late.

* * *

The last DA meeting before the end of term was a somber affair, completely the opposite of what Harry had originally planned. Every single one of the students there had been shocked by what had been reported in the Prophet just two days ago and they had all channelled it into their training, working harder than ever before in their desire to become strong enough to defend themselves and their families. Harry hoped that it would never come to it, that the war would hold off for just a bit longer and that he'd see all of them again at the start of next term, but he knew with some of Voldemort's most loyal supporters now once again at his side that time was running out. Voldemort was about to make his move.

The meeting ran longer than the previous ones, no one wanting to leave. Harry wondered how many of them worried about the same thing he was. But eventually people started to decide to call it a day, in some cases simply because their Pokémon were just no longer able to battle, and the clearing started to empty.

"Marietta, wait, just give me a minute," Cho was pleading with her friend, who huffed in annoyance. Harry didn't know what was going on there and didn't particularly want to find out. The clearing was almost empty now, just the last of the Gryffindors still to go with Hermione, Parvati and Lavender disappearing into thin air.

"Okay, girls, I can't wait all day," Seamus said as he walked towards the two Ravenclaws, Gardevoir reappearing at his side. Cho looked anxious, glancing at Harry as though she wanted to say something. She didn't though, seeming to decide against it, and a moment later both Cho and her friend were gone.

"It's just us now," Seamus announced, walking over to where Dean and Ron stood waiting, Gardevoir appearing silently at his side. "Ready Neville?"

"Go on ahead," Neville said, not turning round to face them. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

Seamus sent a questioning look at Harry, looking somewhat concerned, but Harry just shook his head.

"Let me talk to him," he said quietly. Seamus nodded.

"Alright, I'll send Gardevoir back when we get there," he promised. "Don't be too late, we're going home tomorrow." And with that he, Ron and Dean disappeared.

There was only Harry and Neville left in the clearing, that is if you only counted humans. Before Neville stood his hulking Venusaur, a real powerhouse of a Pokémon if ever there was one, and behind Harry Gardevoir reappeared, floating silently in the background.

There was silence for a moment.

"Neville," Harry said softly. Neville jumped. He hadn't noticed Harry was there.

"Oh, Harry," he said hurriedly, wiping at his face quickly as he turned around. "What are you still doing here?" He let out a sniff.

"I wanted to talk to you," Harry said simply. "If that's alright?" Neville nodded, looking confused.

"What did you want to talk about?" He asked. Harry stepped forward. This seemed like a conversation he needed to be closer for.

"I've noticed you've been a bit… obsessed, since the breakout," Harry told him, watching carefully. "Especially today, you've been pushing your Pokémon to the limit. I was just wondering if you needed someone to talk to. I'm here, if you do."

Neville sniffed again. "Thanks Harry," he said. "But I'm alright. Just realised I needed to get stronger." Harry didn't buy it. He might have, had he not known just why these breakouts effected Neville so badly, but he knew that, despite what he said, Neville needed someone he could talk to about it.

He stepped forward again.

"Here, I've got something to show you," he said, fishing his hand into his pocket and coming up with what he'd been looking for. Neville looked surprised, and curious, and so he instinctively came closer to look.

It was the picture of the original Legion of Ho-oh, though faded and crinkled it wasn't immediately obvious at first and Neville frowned down at the paper in Harry's hands.

"This picture was taken about sixteen, seventeen years ago," Harry told him. "It's the Legion of Ho-oh, have you heard of them?" Neville shook his head. "They fought against Voldemort the first time round. There's my parents, right in the middle."

"I see them," Neville muttered, taking a hold of the corner of the picture to look more closely. "You look just like your dad."

"I've got my mum's eyes," Harry said. "You can't really see in this picture but I've got others. Everyone always told me but it is good to see in person." He paused for a moment, letting his eyes rest on his parents, before he moved on. This wasn't about him.

"And see, there's Dumbledore," Harry pointed out. "And Professor Moody."

"They haven't changed," Neville noted with a small smile. Harry chuckled.

"And there is Professor Lupin, next to my mum," Harry pointed out.

"Wow," Neville said. It must be a surprise to see what their professor had looked like when he was younger. Harry probably wouldn't have guessed it was Remus had he not known he was part of the Legion.

"And there's Gideon and Fabian Prewett," Harry continued. "They're Ron's uncles. And there…" he didn't need to finish his sentence. The moment his finger had drifted over to where Frank and Alice Longbottom stood Neville had let out a gasp and his grip on the picture tightened.

"My parents were in the Legion?" Neville gasped. "Gran always said they fought You-know-who but I thought she meant with the Ministry."

"Well, she didn't," Harry told him. "The Legion of Ho-oh were the premier fighting force responsible for stopping Voldemort. Dumbledore ran it and he still runs it today. It reformed when Voldemort returned."

"Are there lots of people there?" Neville asked cautiously. Harry nodded.

"There's a fair number," he told him. Saying whether there were 'lots' really depended on what Neville's expectations were. "And they're fighting Voldemort every day. They're strong, Neville, powerful, skilful, and good. I know it is scary, to think of how many people in that picture aren't here today, but there are so many people willing to fight, if only you knew where to look. We're not alone in this, Neville, and trust me, we'll win. And Voldemort and the Death Eaters, they'll have nothing."

He wished he was as confident as he pretended to be. It turned out he was a much greater liar than he thought. But Neville needed to hear this. Throughout Neville's life he'd suffered from a lack of confidence. It'd held him back at school, in classes, and socially in the common room. And even if Neville's confidence wasn't in himself then at least he had it in Harry. Everyone needed something to believe in.


	21. Attack At The Ministry

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

That night Harry found he could not get to sleep. The conversation with Neville, who'd nodded off mere moments after a disgruntled Daphne finally collected her Gardevoir, had given him doubts that he hadn't let himself feel since the start of the DA. He tilted his head, looking out through a gap in his hangings and out the window towards the moonless night. What chance did they have, really?

The sound of shuffling footsteps drew Harry from his reverie and he frowned. Had one of his dorm mates got up? That seemed highly unlikely and Harry hadn't heard any of the telltale signs of someone getting out of bed. Was somebody else in their dormitory?

Slowly, so as not to make a sound, Harry sat up in bed. He couldn't see out, not without pulling back his hangings and giving himself away, so, on the off chance that this intruder was less than friendly, Harry gently poked Pikachu awake. The little electric type looked annoyed to be disturbed but quickly his ears pricked up and he became alert. Harry held a finger to his lips, commanding quiet, and reached out for the hangings.

He pulled them away in one big swoop.

"Professor?" Professor McGonagall, one of the last people Harry had expected to see, was standing in the middle of the dormitory, looking rather startled to be caught. She recovered quickly though.

"Potter, what are you doing up?" She asked briskly, but quietly.

"Couldn't sleep," Harry told her. "What are you doing here?" McGonagall hesitated. That wasn't a good sign.

"No time to explain, just help me wake up Weasley," McGonagall instructed, pulling the hangings away to reveal Ron sprawled out on his front, drooling onto his pillow. Wartortle was standing at the foot of the bed, looking rather embarrassed.

"Wartortle, use Water Gun," Harry instructed. Normally instructing a Pokémon to attack their trainer wasn't a successful course of action but this wasn't the first time Wartortle had been called upon to wake up his redheaded master. The water hit Ron in the face with practiced precision. He spluttered.

"Weasley, up," McGonagall commanded, stunning Ron speechless as he looked to find his Head of House standing over him. "You must follow me down to the Common Room. Potter, you too. Don't bother with your belongings, we'll work that out later."

No matter what McGonagall said Harry was never going to leave his Pokémon behind. "Pikachu, Talonflame, return." They both disappeared with a flash of red.

Neither Harry nor Ron were much of a morning person, especially Ron, but the strangeness about this morning, and the ridiculously early hour, brought them right to attention. The mystery only deepened further as they made it to the Common Room and found Fred, George and Ginny waiting for them, all three of them looking exhausted.

"What's going on?" Ron asked as he approached.

"Search me," muttered Fred. "McGonagall's not saying anything." That worried Harry.

"This way," Professor McGonagall instructed. "We're going to the Headmaster's office."

If nothing before had convinced Harry that something was seriously wrong then that did. What had happened? Had it something to do with the Legion? But if so why was Hermione not here with them? Had something happened to her? How could it?

He got no answers as he and the Weasleys followed Professor McGonagall down the dark and silent corridors at a brisk pace. Wandering Hogwarts after dark wasn't a completely foreign concept to Harry but to be led by McGonagall heightened the tension. The cameras following their progress through the school did not help matters.

They reached the Headmaster's Office in what seemed like no time and McGonagall rapped her knuckles on the door immediately upon arrival.

"Enter," Dumbledore called from inside and McGonagall swept through, the five students following behind her.

Walking into Dumbledore's office the assorted Weasleys looked around in awe at the incredible room. Harry, much more familiar with it and not so easily distracted, focused his attention on Dumbledore first and foremost. He had a grave look on his face.

"Thank you, Minerva," he said, and even his voice seemed weary. "I'll take it from here." Professor McGonagall nodded swiftly before leaving the room. She was gone as quickly as she'd arrived. Dumbledore let out a long sigh.

"I'm afraid I bare bad news," he told them, and Harry's heart clenched. "There's been an attack. Your father, Arthur Weasley, has been rushed to St Mungo's for emergency care. At the moment that is all I can say about his condition."

It seemed like all warmth had flooded out of the room. Harry felt as though he'd been punched in the stomach, unable to breath, and he could only imagine how the others were taking it. Fred and George looked shellshocked, so unlike their usual selves, and Ginny sank down into a chair, wrapping her arms around her body and looking on the verge of tears. Ron just stared blankly ahead. It was like he wasn't even there.

"I know this is a shock to you and I wish I could give you some good news," Dumbledore said sadly. "Unfortunately, I cannot."

"What happened?" Fred whispered, looking incredibly pale.

"Your father has been poisoned," Dumbledore said and immediately Harry had flashbacks to second year. "And there's been a large amount of blood loss. It could have been worse, had his Quilava not evolved to defend him. As it is Typhlosion was able to fight off the aggressor and raise the alarm, allowing for the timely application of medical services that may very well have saved his life."

The fact that Quilava had evolved to save Mr Weasley didn't seem to hold any comfort to his children. Maybe in years to come it would but with Mr Weasley's life still on the line and no guarantee of his survival there was little to celebrate.

"I've gathered you up now so that I can send you to Grimmauld Place," Dumbledore told them. "Sirius will be waiting for you there and as it is so much closer to St Mungo's I imagine you'd feel more comfortable there than at the Burrow." It was a thoughtful thing to do but Harry wondered just how much of Dumbledore's decision was focused on protecting the remaining Weasleys now that Mr Weasley was gone.

No one responded to Dumbledore's words. It was hard to tell if they'd heard them. Dumbledore, of course, understood and didn't say anything further. He released a Pokémon, Alakazam, into the room, nobody even reacting to the Pokémon's presence, and gave an instruction.

"Please take the students to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place," he said calmly. Alakazam looked at Dumbledore for a moment and then suddenly Dumbledore's office disappeared around them and instead the dark interior of the Black family sitting room took its place, and with it the heir of the Black family.

"Sirius," Harry said, beyond grateful to see him, but he was the only one to acknowledge his presence. The Weasleys were far from lively, though they did seem at least a little taken aback by the sudden teleportation. Ginny in particular seemed to be confused by the fact the chair she'd been sitting on in Dumbledore's office was still lying beneath her. The actions were muted though and the room quickly fell into silence.

The hours that followed were some of the most painful that Harry had ever endured. They all stayed awake by common agreement, waiting for news, but the fact that they'd had so little sleep meant that was easier said than done. Ginny appeared to nod off several times before jerking awake in her chair, steadfastly refusing to be shown to a bed where she could rest properly. The twins, meanwhile, stemmed the wave of tiredness by pacing periodically, not talking at all. Ron hadn't moved a muscle.

The first sign of movement came later that morning. A sharp wrap on the door caught their attention, Sirius jumping to his feet and hurrying down the stairs. There were a few more knocks in sequence, a different one than Harry remembered when he'd first been introduced to the property, and then the door opened and closed soon after. A pair of footsteps walked up the stairs, low voices murmuring to each other, before the owners appeared on the landing.

It had been Remus who had come to the door, looking just as tired as the rest of them, if not more so. He walked into the room with the air of a man who just wanted to lie down but settled for the sofa before turning to the Weasleys.

"I've just come from the hospital," he told them. They listened intently. "Your father is in very bad condition but he is stable. Hopefully that means the healers can focus on his recovery and he'll be able to return to normal in due time."

"When can we see him?" Fred asked.

"Not yet," Remus responded. "Arthur is far from being able to accept visitors. He is, as a matter of fact, being kept unconscious for the time being so the healers can work without your father feeling pain." Ginny let out a small sound that sounded like a squeak. She looked absolutely terrified.

"Your mother is staying over at St Mungo's," Remus continued. "She sent me here to make sure you all got some food and rest."

"We're not tired," George argued, though his point was negated by the heavy bags under his eyes.

"Of course you are, you're exhausted," Remus told him calmly. "We all are. I know you are all worried but you must understand that there is nothing you can do to help your father right now. The only thing you can do is look after yourself. It's what he'd want you to do." The Weasleys exchanged worried glances.

"I'm going to make some breakfast," Remus told them. "I've got some groceries downstairs. And once you've eaten that, all of it, you must all go to bed. I'll stay up with Sirius and will tell you if there is any news."

It was a good thing that Remus was there, Harry thought as the group trudged down towards the kitchen. Having been their teacher he knew how to get them to do what was best for them, even if they didn't want to do it.

Breakfast was quiet, as expected, but at least some food was consumed, if not a lot. Remus made sure to stand by the stove and fix pointed looks on the red headed members of the group whenever they looked like they'd stop and without fail the students would take another bite or two. Eventually, once Remus was satisfied they'd all eaten enough, he sent them off to bed.

Despite their worry they didn't put up a fight. Harry doubted they had the energy left to do so. Certainly in Harry's case he was out like a light the moment his head touched the pillows and he didn't wake up for a long time.

That evening was a long one. Around dinner time the now rested students started to rouse themselves and so Remus cooked up a hearty meal before excusing himself to a spare bedroom. It occurred to Harry that Remus may not have slept for over thirty-six hours. In the meantime Sirius took charge, chiding the children for not putting enough food on their plates, doing a passable impression of Molly Weasley, and halfway through the meal he was forced to get up and open the front door.

"Get some sleep, Sirius," Mad Eye Moody grunted as he limped past him and into the kitchen. "I'll take the night shift." Following silently behind him was Hermione, looking pale and nervous and looking even worse when she saw the unresponsive Weasleys. She'd clearly heard what had happened.

"Come on Weasleys, eat," Moody demanded. It wasn't the gentle approach taken by Remus and Sirius, and probably wasn't particularly appropriate given the situation, but at least it was effective. Even in their own horrifying thoughts they were still scared of Mad-Eye.

Hermione took her seat next to Harry and gave him a worried look. Harry just gave a grimace in return, discretely patting her on the knee under the table. It would be awhile before things would return to normal, if they ever did.

Mrs Weasley did not make an appearance at the house. She stayed the night at St Mungo's.

It wasn't until the next morning that things started to feel slightly more normal, and Harry was not going to miss that the reason for that was the lack of Weasleys present.

Harry was used to Ron sleeping in until he absolutely had to get up, and without his mum around to force the issue he should have predicted this would happen, but Ron showed absolutely no signs of getting out of bed, despite being wide awake. And he didn't appear to be the only one.

Harry found the rest of the active members of the house, barring Moody, who'd left at the crack of dawn, down in the kitchen, and there was not a red hair in sight.

"Morning, Harry," Sirius greeted, his hair all over the place like a particularly shaggy breed of dog. Sirius was not a morning person.

"Morning," Harry muttered in return, sitting down and reaching for a slice of toast. "What are we talking about?" He'd meant it as a general query but quickly he realised he'd walked in midway through a very serious conversation.

"The breakout, at Azkaban," Hermione responded. "I was trying to see what the Legion knew of it."

"It was an outside job, that's for sure," Sirius told him.

"How do we know?" Asked Harry.

"We've got a man on the inside."

"Kingsley was called in for the investigation," Remus explained. "As he's the lead on the case to catch Sirius he is uniquely qualified to deal with an Azkaban breakout. Anyway, he reported that all the cell doors were blown in, not out. Somebody went into Azkaban and freed the prisoners, and I think we can all guess who."

"How bad is it?" Harry wondered. Sirius and Remus exchanged a look.

"Depends on how crazy the Death Eaters have become," Sirius told him. "Azkaban is a terrible place Harry, it drives you mad, and those lot have been in there since the end of the war. And most of them were mad to begin with."

"It appears likely that none of the ones taken were too far gone," said Remus carefully. "Voldemort would never waste his time with a useless servant, no matter how loyal they had been in the past."

The sound of something slipping through the letter box drifted through the house.

"Is it normal to get mail?" Hermione asked worriedly, glancing towards the kitchen door.

"Some mail," said Sirius. "Just give it a minute." A moment later Sirius's Mightyena, his loyal companion, appeared at the top of the stairs leading down to the kitchen, a newspaper rolled up in his mouth.

"The Black family have a subscription to the Daily Prophet," Sirius told them as he accepted the paper from Mightyena, rubbing the Pokémon on the head as he did so. "The subscription charge comes straight from the Gringotts account so no one questions it. They think they're ripping us off and are happy to let it happen. You should have seen when I first entered this place. Could barely get the door open they'd piled up so much. They were decomposing too." Sirius made a face. "And guess what's front page news." He dropped the paper on the table.

The picture of Arthur Weasley, spread eagle on the ground with healers gathered around him, blocking him mostly from view, was still a terrible sight. Even in black and white you could still make out the pools of blood lying around him.

"Good thing he was reaching the end of his shift," Sirius said grimly. "If Sturgis hadn't been on his way he might not have been found for hours." Harry frowned.

"What was he doing?" He asked. "Was this guard duty, like you mentioned over the summer?" Sirius grimaced.

"Sorry, can't really tell you that," he admitted. He might as well have just said yes. It was telling. Arthur Weasley had been on guard duty that night, which meant that the attack was almost certainly Voldemort, trying to get whatever it was the Legion was guarding. Remembering that Mr Weasley had been poisoned made Harry shiver. Had he come face to face with Nagini? If he had he was lucky to be alive.

The rest of breakfast passed without much mention of Voldemort or his Death Eaters or even Mr Weasley. Instead it revolved around school work, talking about which Pokémon Hagrid had shown them in the last Pokémon Care class (a Snover), and what they thought of Slowbro's rather unusual Mega Evolution.

All through this time Remus read the paper and Harry and Hermione, sitting across the table, tried not to look. The picture of Mr Weasley, lying bloodied on the ground, was clearly visible from where they were sitting.

Eventually, much to their relief, Remus put the paper down, looking up at the kitchen door with a frown. "Are they not up yet?"

Harry and Hermione shared a look.

"They're up," Harry said. "Ron's been awake for hours. I just don't think he wants to come down." Judging by the look on Hermione's face Ginny had been the same. Fred and George too, most likely. Remus sighed.

"I guess that's to be expected," he said sadly. "This is a terrible thing to have to go through." Sirius reached over, placing a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I'll go up and see if anyone wants something to eat," said Hermione, standing up from her chair.

"I'll go with you," Harry said hurriedly, wiping crumbs from his lap. "Remus, can I borrow the Prophet?"

"Certainly," Remus said calmly, rolling it up and handing it over. Sirius looked aghast.

"The Prophet?" He gaped. "Harry, are you reading the Prophet… for pleasure?" Despite himself Harry laughed.

"No, I just want to see what else they have to say about what happened," Harry told him. "Is there anything more on the Azkaban breakouts?" Remus shook his head.

"There's not been any new information all week," Remus told him. "They've got a small section telling you how to get in touch if you see any of the prisoners but there's been no sightings. I doubt we'll get anything more until Voldemort shows himself." Harry nodded. It seemed likely.

"Harry," Remus stopped him short. "Don't let any of the Weasleys see that front page. It would be quite devastating, I assure you."

Harry left the kitchen, following after Hermione, who waited impatiently for him at the top of the stairs.

"What are you up to, Harry?" She questioned in a hushed voice. "I'd recognise that look anywhere. What's going on?" Harry didn't bother trying to argue. He simply unrolled the newspaper. Mr Weasley's body lay open in his hands.

"Do you know where this is?" He asked, showing the picture to Hermione. She looked sick just looking at it and shook her head. "Well, it's in the Ministry, that's what the article says. But Sirius said… well, he didn't say but it was heavily implied that Mr Weasley was on guard duty. Sturgis was about to relieve him."

"So?" Hermione asked.

"So, whatever it is the Legion are trying to guard is actually in the Ministry itself," Harry pointed out, his voice rising slightly in his excitement. "It's here, somewhere past this corridor that Mr Weasley was attacked in."

"I get that, Harry, really, but what difference does that make," Hermione said. "It's not like knowing where this supposed weapon is will help us."

"But don't you get it," Harry said urgently. "If it's in the Ministry then it must be already protected. If Dumbledore is arranging a watch - and Mr Weasley is hardly the most ferocious of guards to be alone on duty - then that must mean that he doesn't trust the security the Ministry have on the item."

"Which just means the Ministry security is lax," said Hermione. "They don't believe You-know-who's back, of course Dumbledore is more concerned than they are."

"But they know ten Death Eaters have escaped," Harry continued. "And they think there's an eleventh that's been at large for over two years now."

"So what's your point?" Hermione asked.

"My point is that perhaps this weapon isn't so… obviously powerful," said Harry. "Maybe it is something that only Voldemort would be able to properly use, or maybe Dumbledore's the only one who understands how powerful it is. He's still left behind a guard, even after they'll have people beefing up security at the Ministry because of the attack, Mad-Eye left this morning."

"What's going on?"

They'd reached the first floor landing by this time and their discussion had gotten heated, so much so that it could be heard in the rooms coming off from the landing, one of them being the room Harry and Ron were staying in.

"Nothing," Hermione said quickly, trying to look innocent. Ron rolled his eyes. It was the most Ron-like thing he'd done since they'd arrived.

"I know something's up," he said frankly, standing in the doorway with the door held half closed behind him. "I know when Harry's on to something. What is it?"

Harry and Hermione shared a look.

"Let's go inside," Harry suggested. While Ron seemed to be acting more himself and he might actually return to normal somewhat when exposed to their usual level of drama Fred, George and Ginny, should they dare venture out of their rooms, probably wouldn't.

"What's this about?" Ron asked, sitting down on his bed. Arcanine immediately nuzzled up next to him and Harry realised just what had prompted Ron's recovery.

"They've reported about what happened to your dad," Harry said quietly. Ron's muscles tensed. Arcanine let out a whine.

"Is it bad?" Ron asked eventually. Harry nodded.

"He was found in the Ministry," he said. "But I don't think he was working, I think he was on guard duty for whatever it is the Legion are hiding from Voldemort."

"The problem is neither of us can be sure," Hermione admitted. "There's a picture showing where your dad was found but neither of us know the Ministry well enough to tell if anything was weird."

"And we can't ask Sirius and Remus," Harry added. "They're not allowed to say anything about what they're guarding." Ron nodded thoughtfully.

"Dad's taken me into the Ministry before," he told them. "I know what his office looks like and some other places. Can I see the picture?" Harry and Hermione hesitated.

"I don't think you should," Hermione said carefully. "It's not particularly nice to look at." Ron considered Hermione and swallowed hard before turning to Harry. He held out his hand.

Against his will Harry passed the paper over to Ron, wishing he could just say no. But like him Ron could not stay away from a mystery and even if his father's life was hanging in the balance what was being kept in the Ministry and what Mr Weasley had been hurt protecting was important to him.

He stared at the picture for several moments.

"I don't recognise this place," he told them, not raising his head. "It's not dad's office, and not the auror department either - you have to go through there to get to dad's place."

"So you don't recognise it?" Hermione said disappointedly.

Ron shook his head. "No," he said dully. "I've never seen it before."


	22. St Mungo's

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Harry quickly regretted giving Ron the newspaper as the picture clearly had a profound effect on him. He shrank back into his shell, becoming quiet again and refusing to leave his room. Harry couldn't help but blame himself for what had happened to him.

"It's not your fault," Hermione told him firmly. "You didn't attack Mr Weasley. The reason Ron's like this has nothing to do with you."

"I should have listened to Remus," said Harry, ignoring her. "I shouldn't have shown him that picture. I'm his friend, I'm supposed to be helping him but instead I just made things worse."

And no matter how many times Hermione tried to convince him otherwise he knew it to be true. It was worse that it was Ron, too. Ron had always been on his side on everything since they had first met on the Hogwarts Express. It was Ron who, even when Harry was wrong and about to do something stupid, backed him to the hilt, and it was Ron that was always there to make him feel better when things didn't work out. Why couldn't he do that for him?

Fortunately he wasn't the only one who had Ron's, and also Ginny's, Fred's and George's, best interests at heart. Sirius and Remus were an almost constant presence over the next couple of days, trying to coax them back into some form of normality, and Nymphadora Tonks also made an appearance at the Legion Headquarters.

But nothing any of them said or did had quite the effect as when Mrs Weasley, on the fourth day, returned to Grimmauld Place.

"He's doing well," she assured them, absently stroking Ginny's hair as she held her close. Upon seeing their mother each of the four Weasley children had engulfed her in a hug. "Bill and Percy are with him at the moment. He's missing you all dearly."

And so the plan was made to visit St Mungo's the very next day which, as it happened, was Christmas Eve. That morning they were visited by Moody and Tonks and with them and Remus, Mrs Weasley having returned to the hospital the night before, they set out into the snowy streets of London.

"We'll be taking the underground," Remus announced. "It's just a few stops and then a short walk once we get out."

Being in the underground was a blessed relief, the warm air highly appreciated after being frozen up above ground, but it quickly turned into a nightmare. Due to the time of year the tube was packed with last minute Christmas shoppers, making the already busy London Underground absolutely heaving. As they got hemmed in on all sides trying to get on their train Moody moved behind Harry, a gnarled hand resting on his shoulder, both himself and Murk alert and watchful.

"Don't like this," he grumbled. "Should of taken Weasley's van."

"It's still at the Ministry, Mad-Eye," Remus reminded him. Supposedly Mr Weasley had left the Ford Anglia back up at the Burrow while staying at headquarters.

The journey by tube was mercifully short, only three stops, and Harry and the rest of the group breathed in gratefully at the crisp cold fresh air above ground as they resurfaced. Indeed Remus and Tonks looked glad to get out too. Moody showed no emotion.

"This way," he instructed, still directing Harry by the shoulder even now that the crowds had dispersed. He hadn't let go for even a moment since they'd entered the Underground. "Just a few more minutes."

St Mungo's was easily recognisable the moment it came into view. It was enormous, and well it should be, as far as Harry knew it was the only hospital in Britain designed specifically to deal with Pokémon related injuries. And as a result it was much more noisy than a normal hospital.

"Out the way, out the way," Moody growled at some of the people standing in the waiting room. They hurried to obey him, Moody's face simply terrifying to the unsuspecting passerby, but the Pokémon, many of them of unusual shape and size, found that task a whole lot more difficult. An Ekans and two Rattata ran under their feet and Harry almost tripped, Moody's hand steadying him before he could.

They reached the reception desk in good time, the receptionist looking quite startled by the large and diverse group of people approaching, and Moody finally let go of Harry's shoulder to stomp forward.

"We're here to visit someone," Moody said without preamble. The receptionist took a moment to respond.

"Name?" He asked, a clipboard set in front of him expectantly.

"Arthur Weasley," Moody growled. The receptionist scanned the clipboard.

"Arthur Weasley, here he is. First floor, second door on the right. That's the Dai Llewellyn Ward: Pokémon Induced Injuries."

"Appropriate name," Fred muttered from behind Harry.

"Thank you," said Remus gratefully. Moody hadn't bothered. Instead he'd stumped away to the double doors beside the reception desk and looked back at them expectantly.

"Come on, then," he growled. "We'll take the stairs. Don't trust elevators."

"Elevators?" Asked Tonks. "Okay, I'll add it to the list. Things you don't trust as of today; teapots, Cornelius Fudge, elevators and… eh, me." Moody glared at her.

"And don't you forget it," he warned, stomping through the doors and out of sight.

"You would never let me," Tonks replied to his back as she followed him, leaving Remus to round up the rest of the group.

The first floor was thankfully a lot quieter than the reception, though no more comfortable. The St Mungo's staff had obviously tried to make the building more welcoming, with a number of pictures, landscapes and portraits, hung along the walls, but there was just something about a hospital that would never sit right. It always felt like a place you just didn't want to be.

The Dai Llewellyn ward, or 'Dangerous' Dai Llewellyn ward as the plaque on the door indicated, was not far at all from the staircase. It was a plain door, the plaque the only thing marking it, indicating the name, head and trainee healer assigned, and the designation as the serious bites ward.

Fortunately Harry felt he was the only one to notice that as Mrs Weasley, who had been sitting in a seat beside the door, quickly stood up.

"Oh good, you're all here," she said in relief. She looked slightly more rested than she had the last time Harry had seen her, which was a good indicator for the wellbeing of her husband. "I'm so glad you could all make it. Alastor, thank you."

"It was nothing," Moody growled. It seemed even taking compliments he sounded angry. "Nothing wayward to report. No attacks. We weren't followed, I don't think."

"We're just glad we're able to help you out," Remus said more eloquently, receiving a glowing smile from Mrs Weasley. "And I think it is probably best if we leave you here for now. We wouldn't want Arthur to be overwhelmed and I think it would only be right if family got to see him first."

"Too right," Tonks agreed enthusiastically. Moody grunted his approval.

"Thank you, all of you," Mrs Weasley said again. "Now come along, your father's waiting. You too, Harry, Hermione. He'll want to see all of you."

Harry was a little overwhelmed. He had, in fact, taken a step closer to Remus with the expectation he would be staying and took awhile to respond.

"Come on, mate," Ron mumbled, clapping him on the shoulder as he passed, snapping Harry out of it. He followed the five red heads and one brunette into the room.

The ward was a surprisingly cheerful looking place, made more so by the Christmas festivities that seemed to have taken over the entire room. That was not to say it was devoid of sick people. Along the left wall was a woman with her leg bandaged and propped up in the air. Beside her was a pale faced man who seemed to be in a lot of discomfort. And beside him…

"Hello there," Mr Weasley beamed over at them, propped up on some pillows and looking for all the world completely fine. "So glad you could make it." The four Weasley children didn't hold back. They rushed forward to their father's bedside.

Mr Weasley wasn't alone when they reached him. Standing by the side of the bed was Percy, looking surprisingly more mature despite the short length of time it had been since Harry had last seen him, and another man, an old and grey haired man, dressed in a suit that seemed even older and sporting a rather magnificent moustache.

"Golly," the older man said. "That's some group you've got there. Are all these yours, Arthur?"

"Only the redheads," Mr Weasley said cheerfully. "The twins, they are Fred and George, this strapping young boy here is my son Ron, and this beautiful young woman is my daughter, Ginny. Everyone, this is Hippocrates Smethwyck. He's Healer-in-charge of the ward."

"Pleasure to meet you all," Healer Smethwyck told them enthusiastically. "Now, as I was just saying to Arthur as you came in, I think we're well on our way to having him discharged."

"Really?" Fred and George asked eagerly.

"Of course, if there's nothing of concern throughout today," Smethwyck told them. "Nobody should be away from their family at Christmas. Just don't overdo it, Arthur, okay. As much fun as your company has been I'd rather not be seeing you for quite some time."

"I'll do my best," Arthur promised. Healer Smethwyck smiled.

"Well then, I'll let you all catch up," he told them. "Pleasure meeting you." And he walked away, stopping to speak with the woman with the bandaged leg across the room. It was only a second before conversation erupted.

"You're looking good, dad."

"Blimey, don't scare us like that."

"How are you?"

Mr Weasley just smiled benignly at their babbling.

"I'm absolutely fine," he assured them, though Harry did notice him shifting with some discomfort. Harry wondered if Healer Smethwyck was only willing to release him because it was Christmas.

"What happened, dad?" Fred asked earnestly. "How did you end up like this?" Mr Weasley let out a nervous chuckle.

"Quite by accident, I can assure you," he told them. "I was working some overtime and decided to go off and stretch my legs for a bit. Walked down the wrong corridor it seems. Don't remember much until I came to, I'm afraid. Still it would have been a lot worse if it wasn't for Typhlosion." He let out a sigh. "They have a pretty strict policy about Pokémon in the ward," he told them. "I haven't had the opportunity to thank him yet."

"Do you know who attacked you?" Ron asked. Harry listened carefully too. The answer could possibly confirm his theory.

But Mr Weasley shook his head.

"Can't, I'm afraid," he admitted sadly. "Fellow got the jump on me."

"But do you know what Pokémon it was?" Harry asked. "Did you see what attacked you?" Mr Weasley looked slightly hesitant.

"Not exactly," he admitted. "I caught glimpses but nothing certain. All I can tell you is what the Healers said, and that is that the poison injected in me came from an Arbok."

"An Arbok?" Hermione replied worriedly. Harry and Ron shared wide eyed looks.

"Yes, a poison type Pokémon," Mr Weasley said, not seeming to notice their reactions. "Quite snake like. And with fangs, as you could probably guess."

"That's enough," Mrs Weasley said shortly, bringing the conversation to a screeching halt. "I think it would be better to stop focusing on what happened and instead focus on what really matters, and that is that your father is going to be fine." It was a valid point, but Harry couldn't help but think the real reason Mrs Weasley had spoken up was because they were drifting too close to Legion business.

"Now Percy, where's Bill got to?" Mrs Weasley asked. "I'd expected him to be here."

"To the cafeteria, I believe," Percy said simply.

"I thought they'd be back by now," Mrs Weasley said.

"I assume it will be that girlfriend of his," Percy said blandly. "Distracting him." That had a very big impact on the group.

"Girlfriend!" Ron burst out. Fred and George looked equally shocked. Ginny just rolled her eyes.

"Yes," said Percy simply.

"A delightful young woman, I assure you," Mr Weasley said happily. "So incredibly polite. Wished me quite the speedy recovery." Harry couldn't help but notice that neither Mrs Weasley nor Percy seemed anywhere near as pleased as Mr Weasley did.

"Why don't we send for him," said Percy, ignoring the talk about this mysterious girlfriend.

"Yes, good idea," Mrs Weasley said worriedly. "We should send the children. Remus, Tonks and Mad-Eye are waiting outside the door, I'm sure they'd like to see Arthur too." None of them were particularly keen to go, especially when it seemed Percy got to stay, but they left after only a minimum amount of fuss, meeting Remus, Tonks and Moody at the door.

"The tearoom is on the fifth floor," Remus informed them as they passed. "Quite a climb although I'd stay away from the lifts, they do need an upgrade."

And then the door was shut with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George stuck outside, not privy to the conversation going on on the other side of the door.

"Children," Fred complained. "Since when did Percy stop being one of the children."

"Got too big for his boots, I reckon," George agreed. "Nothing a few good pranks shouldn't sort out. He'll probably be around this Christmas."

"You will not prank him," Hermione said sternly. "You realise he's supposed to be getting into Fudge's good books and convincing him he's on bad terms with the family. Don't you realise how much it costs Percy to be here?" Fred and George didn't look particularly repentant but let the matter drop, instead turning back to the door.

"I wish we could still be in there," Fred muttered. "I wonder what they're talking about."

"Isn't it obvious?" Hermione spoke again. "They're talking about the attack." Fred rolled his eyes.

"I know that," he said. "But what exactly? What happened? I really wish I could hear."

"I know," Harry said. Everyone turned to him.

"You do?" It was Ginny who asked, looking slightly pale. Harry hesitated.

"I have a theory," he amended. "But from what I heard in there…" he trailed off. "Lets not talk out here." Harry walked briskly up the corridor and, in spite of what Remus had advised him, called for the elevator. It arrived a second later and Harry led them all inside. The door closed behind them.

"So what is it?" George asked. "What happened?" Harry took a breath.

"I think Mr Weasley was attacked on guard duty for the Legion," Harry told them. "I don't buy that he was just working overtime. Ron didn't recognise the corridor he was found in and he knows what all the places around your dad's office look like. He wasn't there."

"So you're saying dad is lying?" Ginny asked.

"To protect us from whatever all that Legion business is, yeah," Harry said. "You know none of the adults want us to have anything to do with the war, they think that keeping us ignorant will keep us safe."

"They forget that Harry will just figure it all out," Ron said with a grin. Harry shook his head.

"I'm just saying what I think," Harry told them, pressing the button for level five. The elevator ground into motion. "There's something dangerous hidden in the Ministry, something powerful, and Mr Weasley was protecting it the night he was attacked. And I'll bet you all the money I have that that Arbok that attacked him was Nagini."

The doors opened and for a moment they all stood still, even as a voice announced their arrival on level five, Fred, George and Ginny looking at him with a mixture of awe and horror. Harry wondered whether he shouldn't have said anything.

"Blimey," Fred muttered, the first one to react as he turned and stepped off the lift. "Incredible. And if it was anyone other than you, Harry, I wouldn't have believed it."

"Makes sense though," George agreed. "But still, terrifying. That You-know-who would send his own Pokémon into the Ministry…" They walked into the St Mungo's tearoom. "Oy, Bill!" George cried. Fred wolf-whistled.

The reason became clear as Harry followed the Weasleys into the tearoom and got his first glimpse of the eldest Weasley boy. He looked as cool as ever, even while sitting at the generic benches of St Mungo's tearoom, and sitting beside him was a beautiful blonde girl who was instantly familiar.

"Fleur?!"

Fleur Delacour beamed. "'Arry, it has been too long," she told him, climbing gracefully to her feet and swooping in to give him a kiss on each cheek. "And you, Ron and 'ermione." She repeated the process with them too, causing Hermione to get flustered and Ron to blush fiercely.

"Hello Harry," Bill greeted with an easy smile. "I see you know my girlfriend." Harry felt his head spin.

"Yeah, I…" he tailed off. "Fleur, what are you doing here?" Fleur smiled.

"I am working for Gringotts," she told him. "But my English iz not so good so I 'ave been getting some private lessons from Bill."

"Private lessons, is that what they're calling them these days?" George said, nudging his older brother in the ribs. Bill pushed him away, though he was smiling.

"Your English is very good already," Ron spoke up, still entranced by the French girl. "I can barely notice your accent." Next to him Hermione rolled her eyes and hit him.

"Thank you, Ron, but I 'ave much to learn," Fleur said humbly. "I still make so many mistakes."

"I agree with Ron," said Bill calmly. "Your English is wonderful." Fleur beamed at him, looking perhaps even more beautiful than before. It was easy to see what Bill found so attractive about her, and similarly what Fleur found so attractive about him.

"Now I get why dad was so fond of you," Fred said with a grin, sitting down at the table the couple had just vacated. "He couldn't be happier."

"Your father is a very brave and kind man," Fleur told him with forthright honesty. "It was an honour for me to meet him."

"Suck up," Harry heard Ginny mutter beside him. Fortunately no one else seemed to notice.

"So what are you lot doing here?" Bill asked, retaking his seat and helping Fleur down into the seat beside him. "Apart from visiting dad, of course."

"We got kicked out," Ron told him. Bill chuckled.

"We didn't do anything," Ginny defended. "They just wanted us out to talk about…" she shut up quickly. Everyone glanced at Fleur.

"She knows about the Legion," Bill said, keeping his voice down as he scanned the room. "Dumbledore has been trying to recruit her." Fleur nodded her beautiful blonde head.

"I want to," she told them passionately. "It is not right to stand on ze sidelines while people are hurt." She looked like she meant it. "Besides, 'e has already killed a friend of mine," she said in a softer tone. Harry looked away. Thoughts of Cedric still hurt.

"Well," Bill said eventually into the resulting silence. "Since it seems like you might be stuck out here for a while why don't you go and get something to eat." He gestured towards the food bar.

"Oh, we're not hungry," said Fred immediately.

"Yeah, why don't you lot go and get something," George agreed. "We'll just stay here. Hey, maybe we can get to know the lovely Fleur."

"Great idea, George," Fred said, as though that hadn't been his plan from the start. "We should do that." Bill rolled his eyes. Ginny giggled.

"We'll go," said Harry. He actually felt quite hungry, nerves surrounding Mr Weasley's condition had stopped him from getting a proper breakfast. "Anyone coming?"

Ron, Hermione and Ginny all followed him, and as soon as they left the table they could hear Fred and George start in on Fleur.

"Honestly," Hermione said, shaking her head, exasperated. "Those two are the worst. I bet they wouldn't be half as interested if she wasn't pretty."

"She wouldn't be Bill's girlfriend if she wasn't pretty," Ginny spoke up. That seemed a bit harsh, Bill had never come across as shallow, except Harry also couldn't imagine Bill with a girl who was anything other than beautiful.

"Give the guy a break," Ron said, coming to his brother's defence. "It's not like she's just pretty. She's smart and powerful too."

"And you know that how?" Ginny challenged.

"She was a Tri-Pokémon Champion," Harry spoke up. "She was the most talented and worthy that Beauxbatons had to offer." Ron pointed his finger at Harry as if to say that was his point exactly.

"Agreed," Hermione admitted. "And there's nothing wrong with being beautiful, of course. It's just a bit hard not to think that it has something to do with her looks."

That was probably true. After all, it was pretty hard to ignore how beautiful Fleur actually was. But still, Harry felt he'd come to know Fleur quite well. She didn't strike him as the sort of person who would allow anyone to objectify her.

"Well, I'm happy for them," he said, spooning some mashed potatoes onto his plate. "They really look like they enjoy each other's company." He turned to the next dish, accidentally bumping into someone behind him. "Oops, sorry."

There was a silence in the room that bothered Harry, Hermione and Ron both staring with wide eyes to the person behind him, which prompted Harry to take a second look.

"Professor Quirrel?!"

It had been three and a half years since Harry had last seen Quirinus Quirrel, and he had been in a bad way then. He didn't look too much better now. His face was horribly disfigured, a mess of scars that put even Mad-Eye Moody to shame, and he was staring down at Harry with something akin to terror.

"M-m-m-mr Pott-t-er," he stammered. The familiar speech pattern made Harry uneasy. The only reason he'd had his stutter in the first place had been due to his resistance against Voldemort's possession. But a quick glance down at Quirrell's hospital gown showed there was no place for a Pokéball to be hidden. This stutter was genuine.

"How are you doing?" Harry asked. He honestly felt bad for the man. He hadn't been in control for the entire time Harry had known him and he had suffered worst of all from Voldemort's possession.

"A-ah, g-good, Mr Pott-ter," Quirrel replied with a nervous smile. "Y-you look well. You t-too Mr Weasley and Miss G-granger." He tilted his head awkwardly to the pair of them. His usual turban had been replaced with a mesh of plain white bandages. It made his head look much smaller than usual.

"What are you doing here, Professor?" Harry asked respectfully. Despite his obvious ailments Quirrel did look as though he was capable of living on his own. Quirrel almost jumped at the question.

"Oh, j-just a check up," he told Harry. "A three day c-course of h-h-healing c-cream. To r-rid of the sc-sc-scars. Only the ph-physical ones, of course, n-nothing to do with the m-m-m-mental ones." He let out a nervous laugh. He was interrupted by a cough behind him. His expression turned angry.

"Can I not visit the tearoom without your supervision?" He demanded, his stutter evaporating as he turned to the small, plump nurse standing behind him. "Am I not an adult?" The nurse just fixed him with a stern look.

Quirrel closed his eyes.

"Alright," he admitted tiredly, before turning back to Harry. "A p-pleasure to see you, P-potter. I hope we m-meet again." He nodded to Hermione and Ron before following docilely after the nurse.

"Wow, he's even weirder than I remember," Ron said as Quirrel exited the room. "I feel sorry for him, but still."

"He seemed absolutely terrified to see you," Ginny noted. "It was like he was scared of you, Harry."

"I don't think it's really me," Harry disagreed.

"Right, I think it's more what Harry represents," said Hermione. "And what the two of us represent too. He spent a whole year possessed by You-know-who. And seeing us so unexpectedly must be a horrible reminder of what had happened."

"He was possessed?" Ginny asked, shocked.

"For a whole year," Ron nodded. "Until You-know-who sent him walking through fire and he melted. Poor guy." Ginny fell silent at those words. Harry wondered if she too was thinking about what had happened to her. As awful as it had been in many ways Ginny was lucky but Quirrel's comment about mental scars was more real to her than anyone.

They collected the rest of their food in silence and paid, Harry insisting on buying for all of them, before walking with their plates back to the table. As they reached it everyone else stood up.

"We're going to head back to the room," Bill told them. "It sounds like mum's getting a bit paranoid about us all."

"Good thing she's with Moody then," George commented. Bill ignored him.

"Eat up and meet us back downstairs. I can't promise I'll still be around but it would be nice to see you before I head off." And they were gone.

"I've got to say I'm surprised Quirrel is still hanging around," Ron said, continuing their previous conversation as though nothing had happened, spooning a large mound of food into his mouth.

"His wounds were terrible," Hermione reminded him. "You saw what he looked like." Ron shook his head, his mouth too full to respond. He swallowed.

"I mean I'm surprised he bothers to come back for the cream," he said. "He must have spent loads of time here after what happened to him. I know I'd want to avoid this place for as long as I could."

"I suppose getting rid of the scars are more important to him," Harry suggested.

"But the scars won't go away," Ron argued. "They'll get a bit better but there's no way that they'll heal much more after so long. The best that cream can do is nothing really. And three days here is a long time for something that won't help much. And around Christmas, too."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe he's just not over it," he suggested. "It's a big thing that happened to him. He lost independent thought for a year. You don't just go back to a normal life after that. And with his scars it's not like he can just forget it either. He'll see what happened every time he looks in a mirror." There was a sombre silence.

"I suppose no one can really guess how someone might react to a given situation," Hermione said sadly. "Especially if you haven't experienced it yourself."

"True," Harry muttered. Thoughts of Cedric, spurred by his encounter with Fleur, flitted through his mind. How could anyone understand what it was like to see someone die right in front of you if they hadn't seen it themselves? How could they understand what it was like to fight for your life? All these things Harry was trying to teach the DA to prepare for. There was no preparing for it. There was only the hope that once it happens you have the strength to carry on.

Quirrel had managed, Harry thought, but then he reconsidered. What sort of life did Quirrel have now? He was almost unrecognisable and the story of what had happened was pretty widely known. What life did Quirrel have left, other than his trips to St Mungo's and his relationship with his nurses? Perhaps that's why he didn't stutter when talking to the nurse. She was everything Quirrel had.

"We should probably be heading back," Hermione said, breaking Harry from his thoughts. He was startled to realise he'd finished his meal - he could not remember eating it. Ginny was finished too, having been equally as quite as him, and Hermione hadn't taken much food so she too had a clear plate. Only Ron was left.

"Just a second," he said and he scooped up all that was left on his plate and shoved it into his mouth. He swallowed. "Done."

Hermione shook her head at his disgusting behaviour but stood up anyway, carrying her plate over to the counter, Harry following her lead.

"It really was good to see Professor Quirrel again," she told him quietly as they walked to the door. Ron and Ginny were following a couple of steps behind them, just out of earshot.

"Good for who?" Harry wondered. He didn't feel particularly good right now.

"Well, for all of us I guess," Hermione told him. "I don't mean how we feel now but how we will feel. I just think this gives us a bit of closure, don't you?"

That made Harry wonder. The horrific injuries to Professor Quirrel had haunted his nightmares for some time after he'd seen them in person. He'd been only eleven years old and no one that young should have to deal with those things. Perhaps this would give him some comfort, to see Quirrel walking around and clearly living a life. But then again he wondered about what that life was. Would he have been better served dead?

"I think it might be good for Professor Quirrel, too," Hermione continued. "I got the feeling he'd been sort of ignoring what had happened, trying to pretend it was a dream or a delusion for some sort. I know it must be painful to be reminded of it but I do think that the best way in the long run to deal with things is to be honest about them."

"How long will that take, though?" Harry wondered. "Who knows how old Quirrel is but if he dies ten years from now and he spends nine in agony trying to process what happened to him… Maybe forgetting is better."

"I guess we'll never know," Hermione admitted. "I just wish I did. I wish I could help him."

Harry did too. He wanted to help so bad, the feeling of guilt about Quirrel's injuries always there despite the logic dictating that it wasn't his fault. But what could he do? The only things that could be done were being done, by St Mungo's. Harry hoped it would be enough.

"Neville?"

Harry pulled up, blinking at the sound of the familiar name. Sure enough Neville Longbottom stood before him, looking a lot like the last time Harry had seen him. And considering the situation last time that wasn't good.

"Harry?" Neville replied. It hadn't been Harry who had said his name but it was Harry who he saw first. "Ron? Hermione? What are you doing here?"

"Visiting my dad," Ron said casually. "Did you hear about what happened?"

"Oh, yes," Neville said, going rather pale. "I saw it in the Prophet. Is he alright?"

"He'll pull through," Ron told him. "I know what you're thinking, the Prophet picture looked bad, but the Healer says that dad's doing fine. He'll even be coming home tomorrow, as long as he doesn't do anything stupid." Neville smiled.

"That's good," he said. "I'm glad. I was really worried when I read about it. I guess that's why you guys left early." Harry and Ron nodded.

"So what are you doing here, Neville?" Hermione asked curiously. "Are you visiting anyone?"

And that was when Harry realised what was going on and his eyes flashed to the door in front of which Neville was standing. They were on the fourth floor and Harry had read the floor descriptions. This ward was for patients with permanent damage.

Neville looked a bit lost to answer, understandably once Harry realised who was most likely behind that closed door, but he was saved from responding when it opened. An austere looking woman stepped out. Old, and wearing a fox fur scarf and vulture topped hat, this could only be Neville's grandmother.

"What are you waiting for Neville?" She said sharply. "Were we not meeting in the reception?" Neville was too overwhelmed to respond, and so Madam Longbottom turned her attention to them.

"And who are you?" She asked, her eyes sharp.

"Eh," Ron said nervously. Madam Longbottom was obviously intimidating.

"We're Neville's friends," Hermione answered quickly. "From Hogwarts."

"Friends?" Madam Longbottom repeated. She sounded surprise. "Neville, you didn't say you had friends." Neville looked incredibly awkward.

"Eh, yes," said Hermione, looking as though she was trying to spare Neville from his gran's judgement. "My name's Hermione Granger. This is Ron and Ginny Weasley, and this is Harry Potter. We're all in Gryffindor with Neville."

"Really?" Madam Longbottom replied. "Potter?" Unsurprisingly she focused on him.

"Yes," Harry said simply. Madam Longbottom looked impressed.

"Well, good on you," she told him. "Coming all the way out here for your friend. My son doesn't get many visitors aside from myself and Neville. It would be good for him to have some more company." Harry immediately felt sick.

"Gran," Neville said. His voice was tiny. "They're not here to see dad." Madam Longbottom frowned.

"And why not?" She asked. "Why are they here?"

"Eh, my dad was attacked," Ron answered awkwardly. "He's downstairs. Neville, I didn't know… I mean…"

"You didn't tell them?" Madam Longbottom boomed, staring down at her grandson. "You didn't even tell your friends about what happened to your parents." Neville shook his head, staring at the ground. Madam Longbottom pulled herself up to her full height.

"Well, if you won't then I will," she told him. The disappointment on her face as she looked at Neville was startling. "My son, Frank, and his wife, Alice, are longterm residents of St Mungo's. When Neville was young they were attacked by some of You-know-who's followers for information and have been comatose since. Unlike _some_ members of the family I am proud of their sacrifice. My son was a great man, I will not hide the lengths he went to protect his family."

If Neville could have looked smaller he would have. As his grandmother talked it seemed as though a weight had fallen on his shoulders, getting heavier and heavier with each passing word and condemnation. He looked beaten.

"Come along, Neville," Madam Longbottom said sharply. It seemed like she had said her bit. "We've got a long journey ahead of us."

Neville went without complaint. Harry wondered if it was always like this with his grandmother. It made sense why Neville had always had so little confidence with himself. He had a lot to live up to, much like Harry, but while Harry hadn't known about his parents' sacrifice growing up Neville had no doubt been reminded of it every single day.

"Oh my god," Hermione whispered. She looked horrified.

"I can't believe it," muttered Ron.

"Poor Neville," said Ginny.

Watching Neville go Harry agreed with all of what they said and so desperately he wanted to reach out and help. He wanted to call back, tell Madam Longbottom that Neville was proud of his parents and wasn't ashamed, tell her how Neville was fighting back and how he was getting stronger and stronger and how he would live up to his father's name.

But he didn't, because he knew Neville wouldn't want him to. This was Neville's fight. Neville felt like he had to prove himself to his Gran but the truth was that he'd more importantly need to prove himself to himself, and Harry couldn't help with that. That was Neville's challenge to beat.

"I can't believe what happened to them," Ron muttered as they slowly began to descend the stairs again. All good humour had gone.

"Didn't you say something about this before?" Hermione wondered. "I remember something back in first year, you hinted You-know-who was the reason Neville's parents were missing."

"That was a guess," Ron admitted. "Lots of families were like that, I just assumed that Neville would be the same. I thought they'd just died, like my Uncle Gideon and Uncle Fabian. Not this."

"It is awful," Hermione admitted. "I had no idea."

"I did," Harry said quietly. He didn't know why he admitted it. He supposed he just wanted to tell his story now he had no reason to keep it hidden.

"You did?" Hermione gasped. "How?" Harry sighed.

"I saw this thing, in Dumbledore's office," he told them. "It was some sort of plant and it recorded things, like things that had happened in the past. I ended up seeing this scene where the LeStranges and Barty Crouch Jr were on trial. They were the ones responsible."

Hermione looked shocked. "They were?" She gasped. "Why didn't you tell us?" Harry shrugged.

"It wasn't my story to tell," he admitted. "I know I wouldn't like someone talking about this behind my back. It was Neville's secret to tell."


	23. Christmas At Grimmauld Place

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

There was a strange quiet in the group as they returned to Mr Weasley's ward, saying goodbye for hopefully only a matter of hours as Healer Smethwyck prepared for his early discharge. Each of them were lost in thought about what they had seen in the short time they'd been away. Whether it was Neville's plight or Quirrel's there was a lot to think about.

In contrast the journey back to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was a jolly one. Fred and George, now firm in their belief that their father was going to be just fine, had returned to their old joyous and loud selves. They entertained themselves with loud conversation from one end of the group to the other, telling whoever would listen any joke that crossed their mind as they boarded the train, and were practically singing by the time they made it back, much to Moody's annoyance.

Not much changed once they'd got inside. Sirius had been very busy.

"Oh, back so soon, what a coincidence," he said, loudly and obviously, arms laden with parcels. "Nothing to see here. Just moving some stuff. Nothing interesting." And he ducked out of sight. A small flash of red appeared and Harry had the suspicion that Sirius had just teleported somewhere else in the house.

"Blimey, I barely recognise this place," Ron muttered as they stepped in from the doorway.

It was a sight to behold. There was tinsel everywhere. Hanging over all the paintings, winding up the bannister, tied around the handle to every door. That wasn't all as numerous candles had been set up, throwing light on the decorative stockings pinned to the wall, sprigs of holly thrown around seemingly at random, and hanging from the ceiling were small cardboard cutout Delibirds.

"What do you think?" Sirius called. He'd reappeared on the first floor landing, beaming down at them.

"Fantastic," Fred said.

"Very Christmassy," said George. Sirius grinned.

"Wait till you get up here, you haven't seen anything yet." And he was right.

The room of choice was the drawing room, usually rather drab and empty, but in the short time they'd been gone it had been transformed. A roaring fire had been lit under the mantlepiece, two snow globes and a Pokémon themed nativity set, complete with baby Mew, resting on top. But the real focus was the huge Christmas tree that had somehow found its way inside, decorated with tinsel, candy canes, baubles and, of course, an angel on top.

"Bloody hell, Sirius," Ron gaped. "Where'd you get the tree?"

"Cut it down myself," Sirius said proudly. "I mean, Gallade helped, you know, with the actual cutting part. And with getting it here. Teleported it straight in."

"This came from a forest?" Ron wondered.

"Not sure, really," Sirius frowned, scratching his chin. "I think it might have been someone's garden actually. Still, very big garden, not like they'll miss it."

"Sirius," Hermione said exasperatedly but Sirius just beamed.

"Come on, Hermione, lighten up," he said. "It's Christmas, time for fun, laughter, joy and presents. Not that I have any presents." He gave Harry a wink.

In the end Hermione could not keep hold of her disapproval, Sirius had just done too well at turning the formerly dark and gloomy headquarters for the Legion of Ho-oh into a true Christmas wonderland.

And come Christmas Day it was even better.

By unspoken agreement Christmas morning was delayed until the moment a sharp wrap was heard at the door and Mr Weasley, leaning heavily on a cane, crossed the threshold.

"Merry Christmas," he said joyfully and it sure was. Even Christmas at the Burrow could not compare to this.

Presents, which had appeared magically under the tree overnight, curtesy, Harry was sure, of Gallade, were passed around and unwrapped with lots of talk and laughter, the room filled with the sort of carefree energy Harry had not witnessed in some time.

Mr Weasley in particular was loving it. Under strict orders not to overdo it, lest he be readmitted to St Mungo's, he had been plonked down into an armchair in the Black Drawing Room and been forbidden from moving. Instead everyone came to him.

"Delightful," Mr Weasley said, holding Harry's gift to him, a box filled with special pokéblock designed specifically for fire types. "Thank you, Harry." Mr Weasley had already received a multitude of gifts, most significant a vibrant multicoloured Christmas jumper from his wife which he'd insisted on putting on immediately, and was looking as though he was having the time of his life.

There was just one thing that bothered Harry, as the group headed downstairs to the kitchen for Mrs Weasley's specially prepared Christmas dinner, Ron helping his father down the stairs. Though he'd received many presents, and even one was enough for Harry, there was one specific person who he had not gotten anything from.

It was not like Sirius had forgotten. Far from it, despite the many Weasleys in the room, as well as Remus and Hermione, Sirius was able to hand out a parcel to every single one of them. All except for Harry. And despite telling himself not to look too much into it and that there was obviously a good explanation it still weighed heavily on him as he ate his way through Mrs Weasley's delicious Christmas dinner.

When it was finished Mrs Weasley instructed everyone back to the drawing room.

"Here, let me help," Ron said quickly as Mr Weasley made an attempt to move himself.

"Ah, thank you, Ron," thanked Mr Weasley, sounding quite amused as he allowed the boy to help him up. Harry made to follow but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Hold on a moment, Harry," Sirius said quietly, the rest of the group trudging up the stairs, not noticing they weren't being followed. "I'd like to talk to you in private." Harry waited. Soon enough the Weasleys had disappeared and it was just the two of them in the Black family kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Harry wondered. Why did Sirius need to talk to him?

Sirius let out a small laugh.

"Nothing, Harry, nothing's wrong," he assured him. "I just wanted to get some alone time with you. I wanted to give you your present, and I wanted you to be alone when you got it."

Harry felt warmth spread through his body at those words. So Sirius hadn't forgotten, or worse, deliberately not gotten him anything.

"Really? Where is it?"

Sirius laughed. "Easy there, you haven't even seen it yet," he chortled. He bent down, opening up one of the kitchen cabinets at ground level and reaching in with both hands to pull out the object within. It was big, larger than Harry was anticipating, and he started to see why Sirius had waited until after everyone else had opened theirs to give it to him.

"Whew, heavier than I thought it would be," Sirius panted as he heaved the box onto the table. "Remus was the one to go out and get it. I can't be seen, obviously, but I'm sure he got the right thing. He knows what it looks like." Sirius paused, looking at Harry. "Well, open it then."

Harry didn't need a second invitation and his fingers quickly sought the edges where sellotape was holding the box together. A few seconds useless scrabbling passed before Harry eventually went searching for the scissors, only to find Sirius was holding them out for him to grab. That sped up the process immensely.

He pulled the box open.

Styrofoam chips was all he could see, somewhat anticlimactic considering his excitement to open the box. He dug through the chips, turfing them out until he felt his fingers connect with something solid. He scrabbled for an edge and pulled.

Whatever he'd been expecting it wasn't that. Held in Harry's hands, which were just barely clinging on, was a large metallic plate. It was simple in design, in-ornate, and vaguely resembled the sort of armour a medieval knight might have worn to protect his shoulders.

"What is it?" Harry asked, completely confused. So heavy the metal was he was forced to lower it to the table to avoid dropping it. Even so when he let go the end swung and collided with the table with a clang.

"What it looks like," Sirius told him, seeming to take amusement from Harry's bewildered expression. "Armour, for Charizard." That caught Harry's attention.

"For Charizard?" he repeated, looking down at the armour in a new light. Now that he knew that he could sort of see how a Charizard might wear it, though why one would was still a mystery.

"James's Charizard had one just like it," Sirius told him, leaning forward to caress the polished metal. "I had it made to look exactly like it. Well, Remus did but it was my idea. Anyway, it's not really the armour that makes this present special."

"Then what is it?" Harry asked. Sirius didn't answer at first. Instead his hand wound its way into a circular indent in the back.

"You told me you were learning Mega Evolution this year," Sirius said softly. "We did in our fifth year too. So you probably already know that Charizard can Mega Evolve." Harry nodded. "This armour, or at least the original one that James had, was designed to fit a Mega Stone right here."

"So that he could Mega Evolve Charizard," Harry breathed. Sirius nodded.

"The hole is the perfect size," he told him. "Come on, lets go put it on now, see how Charizard looks."

Eagerly Harry followed Sirius up the stairs, heavy armour held awkwardly under his arm. As they reached the top of the stairs that led down to the kitchen they could hear the noise from upstairs, the hearty chatter of people having a good time, but Sirius led Harry instead to a door he'd never gone through before, leading him outside.

Number 12 Grimmauld Place didn't have much of a garden. Courtyard would be a better word to describe it, the ground paved but for the multitude of weeds growing through the cracks. A large tree, having grown unchecked over the years, towered over them, its many branches, even devoid of leaves, hiding them from view.

"Come out, Charizard," Harry whispered. He had no doubt Charizard had no intention of leaving his Pokéball until they got back to Hogwarts, there simply was not enough space indoors, and so the Pokémon took a moment to look around curiously.

"Charizard, I have something for you," Harry said, drawing his partner's attention towards the armour held under his arm. "It's a gift from Sirius." Charizard lowered his head towards the metal, snorting and blowing hot air all over it and Harry. "Would you like to try it on?" Charizard considered this from a moment, looking from the armour to Harry, before nodding. Harry wondered if Charizard only agreed because he knew Harry wanted him to.

"Here, let me help," said Sirius, stepping forward as Harry struggled with the clunky metal. Together they were able to get it sorted and, with Charizard staying obediently still, slipped it over his head and neck. Sirius buckled it into place.

"It fits," he said, gliding a hand across the smooth metal. "Perfectly."

That it did, Harry thought, as he watched Charizard lean back so as to tilt his head enough to look. "What do you think?" Charizard let out a low rumble from the back of his throat. That was a positive.

"I'm still looking for the Evolution Stones," Sirius told Harry. "There's two for Charizard and I haven't got either yet. But once I find them they'll fit right in that groove and then you'll be able to Mega Evolve Charizard."

"With my Key Stone," Harry said, fishing out the mysterious stone from under his shirt. He wore it constantly, even though Sirius had never taken the time to explain it. Now seemed to be the time.

"It was your father's," he told Harry, an almost sorrowful look in his eyes. "It was one of his possessions that was passed on to Remus after he died and I was sent to Azkaban. As soon as I knew he had it I knew I had to give it to you."

"This was my father's?" Harry breathed, staring down at the Key Stone with awe. He'd been wearing it around his neck for months now and he'd not known. How could he have something so personal and intimate to his parents with him for so long without him realising its significance?

"He'd be proud of you, Harry," Sirius said, drawing Harry's attention away from the stone. "They both would. And so am I. Never forget it."


	24. The Inquisitorial Squad

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

There was no way the rest of the holidays could match the unbridled enthusiasm of Christmas Day but the occupants of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place did their absolute best. The twins led the efforts, being loud and boisterous in the way only they could, only cooling down when Mrs Weasley insisted that her husband needed rest.

Sirius, too, was in buoyant mood, clearly loving having so many people in the house again, and most especially enjoying having Harry back. He'd done what Harry had asked of him, he had not attempted once to visit him at Hogwarts despite being tempted on many occasions, and it was clear he was going to make the most of his time with his godson. More than once over the holiday the two of them stayed up late, after even Fred and George had called it a night, occasionally joined by Remus, to talk the night away. Harry would miss these conversations with Sirius. He'd miss the whole thing.

What he was going back to barely bared thinking about.

But eventually that sad day when they were forced to return to Hogwarts, something Harry had thought could never possibly be associated with such feelings of dread, arrived. It was with a heavy heart that Harry said goodbye to Sirius, the extra long hug the man gave him the only outward sign he didn't want Harry to leave, and soon they were escorted to Kings Cross Station and Platform Nine and Three Quarters to board the Hogwarts express.

"Man, what a holiday," Ron said as they settled into a compartment, feeling quite drained. They had so little enthusiasm to return there really wasn't much point in expelling the energy to care.

No one replied to Ron's comment, their silence was agreement enough, and soon the Hogwarts Express pulled away from the station, Hermione pulled out a book, and Harry rested his head against the cold window.

And that's how the journey went. Quiet, uninteresting, with nary a word spoken between the three of them. Only the occasional sound of Hermione turning a page in her book, or Ron letting out a surprised snort as he realised he was drifting off, joined the repetitive chug of the wheels on the tracks. Everything looked to be going perfectly dull.

Then the door to their compartment opened.

"Potter."

Harry recognised that voice immediately. Only two people could put so much contempt into saying his name and one of them was waiting at Hogwarts. He turned his head from the wilderness outside and regarded the intruder.

"Malfoy," he replied. His voice was dull, unexcited by an encounter that would usually spark his adrenaline and switch on his mind and body in a buzz. But strangely Draco Malfoy had not been much to worry about over the last few months. Sure, he was responsible for the events that led to Fred and George being kicked off the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, but other than that he had mostly kept to himself. Harry supposed he'd had bigger things to worry about this year. "What do you want?"

Malfoy looked affronted. "My, manners, Potter," he crooned. "Just who on earth raised you? Ah, of course, _muggles_." If he was expecting Harry to rise to the bait he was terribly mistaken. The Dursleys were objectively terrible as guardians.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Ron grumbled. Like Harry he didn't seem to have the energy to be up for it. "No one wants to see your slimy face." Malfoy smirked.

"Well that's unfortunate for you, isn't it, Weasley," he told him. "It just so happens that the, eh, 'slimy faces' you so desperately want to avoid will be making quite the impact this year."

"What are you talking about?" Asked Ron, confused.

"Just a little something called the Inquisitorial Squad," Malfoy said airily, though his eyes gleamed. "A little group that's been formed over Christmas. Haven't you heard of it?" Harry glanced briefly to Ron and Hermione. Neither of them looked any more clued in than he was.

"Alright, I'll bite," he said, a little more force in his voice now. "What's the Inquisitorial Squad?"

"A little group gathered together by Professor Umbridge," Malfoy told him. "Appropriate students, those the Ministry felt might be interested and fitting for the role, were invited to join over the holidays. It's an exclusive group, with the power to keep order at Hogwarts. And of course, they'll report directly to the High Inquisitor."

"And I suppose you're part of this little group," Harry challenged. The smirk on Malfoy's face dropped slightly.

"Please," he sneered. "Like I would debase myself to Umbridge. No, I'm a prefect, I have enough power to be not so desperate as to join the hag's crack disciplinary force." He looked genuinely repulsed by the idea.

"Then why are you here?" Challenged Hermione. "Doing your duty as prefect to inform the student body of a change in command?"

"Hardly," Malfoy sneered. "I just wanted to be the one to tell you, to see the looks on all your faces when you realise what this means. No more sneaking around, Potter. No more stories about Dark Lords and reincarnation in Hogwarts anymore. It's going to be the Ministry way or…" he tailed off with a trademark smirk. "I think you know where I'm going." He turned to leave.

"Watch your back, Potter," he said as he walked out the doorway. "It's not just me you need to be careful of." And he shut the door behind him.

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged looks.

"What on earth was that?" Ron wondered. "Since when did Malfoy come to brag about a group he's not even been invited to."

"You know, I think he was invited," Hermione reasoned. "I doubt Umbridge would think of many students before Malfoy to join this Inquisitorial Squad. No, I think Malfoy is genuine in why he's not accepting."

"So why did he come here?" Said Ron. "Was it really just to brag?"

"I doubt it, Malfoy is never that simple," commented Hermione. "I just wonder… this might seem strange but maybe he was trying to warn us."

"Warn us?" Said Ron, doubtfully.

"Yes, I know, I know it seems stupid," Hermione admitted. "But just from what he said, the way he said it… it feels as though he's trying to make sure we don't walk in blind. It's as though he's trying to give us a fighting chance."

"But why would he do that?" Ron wondered. "Malfoy hates us more than he hates anyone. He'd love to see us get into all kinds of trouble with this Inquisitorial Squad."

"Maybe, I don't know," said Hermione. "But something wasn't right. There is more to this than what Malfoy is saying."

"Bollocks," Ron said. "He was just being a git. He loves to rub our noses, imagine how happy he'll be when Hogwarts falls to Fudge and his cronies."

But Harry agreed with Hermione, something wasn't quite right. Plus, it did feel as though Malfoy was giving a warning. It certainly worked out that way. But why would he? Ron was right, Malfoy hated them, in particular Harry, he surely wasn't out to help them. But if he wasn't then what was his game?

* * *

They reached Hogsmeade station with Harry no further along in answering that question and as they piled into one of the Zebstricka pulled carriages, joined by Ernie McMillan of all people, Harry gave it up as something he was never going to figure out. Despite having fought with him for so long Harry didn't know what Malfoy was thinking. He was changing, and Harry was changing too. Part of it was the current state of affairs but part of it was something much simpler; they were both growing up.

"Hey, the DA is still going, isn't it?" Ernie said anxiously, the thought only occurring to him as they approached the great oak front doors of Hogwarts. "I know there might be some difficulties but it's been great, all of us Hufflepuffs enjoy it."

"Yeah, it's still on," Harry murmured, keeping his voice down despite the fact no one would be close enough to hear them. "We'll decide on a date once we know the Quidditch schedules." Ernie nodded and did not bring up the DA again.

"I can't believe we're almost sitting our A. already," he said instead as the four of them were dismounting the carriage. "It seems like yesterday we were all first years about to be sorted."

"Don't remind me," Ron grumbled. Harry found that he'd forgotten too. Schoolwork had been tough, tougher than ever before, but with everything else that was happening Harry had forgotten about the extremely important exams that were going to be held in just a few months time.

"We really need to start thinking about them, the time will fly by," Ernie continued, to Ron's dismay. "I'm already thinking of drawing up a revision timetable."

"Really, McMillan, not even back in the castle and already studying." The provocateur in this situation was so commonly Draco Malfoy that Harry was rather shocked to find a different Slytherin boy in his place - Theodore Nott. Ernie scowled.

"What do you want, Nott?" he retorted. Harry was taken aback. Ernie very rarely got angry. Just what history was there between these two?

Neither of them were about to take the time out to explain.

"Just to embarrass you," Nott answered smugly. "As always." He was far from as brutal or cutting as Malfoy was but he still exuded that same sense of superiority. It was enough to get Ron going, at least.

"Hey, Nott, why don't you shut it," he snapped, stepping forward aggressively. "Trying to copy Malfoy doesn't work for you. You haven't got the brain for it." Concerningly Nott only smiled.

"Ten points from Gryffindor," he said with an almost embarrassing amount of pleasure. "For foul language and insulting a superior."

"What are you talking about?" Ron snapped back. "You're not my superior. You're not even a prefect."

"And even prefects can't take house points, Nott," Ernie McMillan chimed in, looking satisfied to get in a shot at the Slytherin. "You can dream on if you think you are anything but a sad, little loser." But Nott was still smiling and Harry started to get an unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Oh, but I am something," Nott sneered. "Far more than a mere prefect." He ran a disparaging look over the four of them. In the group only Harry didn't hold that distinctive honour. "I'm a member of a group far more influential reporting straight to the High Inquisitor herself." He tapped his lapel. A small silver badge in the shape of the letter 'I' glinted in the light pouring out the castle doors.

"What are you talking about?" Ernie blustered but Harry already knew and, judging by their silence, Ron and Hermione did too.

"The Inquisitorial Squad," Nott told them with sickening glee. "Only the best were invited. I see none of you made the cut." He smirked. "Members of the Inquisitorial Squad, such as myself, have the power to give or take house points for anything they deem worthy, and of course report back to the High Inquisitor of any suspicious goings on within the castle." His eyes glinted. "I'd be careful, McMillan. The tide is rolling in." And he turned and left them standing out in the cold, each of them worrying as to what would happen next.

"Bugger," Ron swore. "Guess Malfoy was telling the truth after all."

"Malfoy?" Ernie asked, startled. "What's he got to do with this?"

"He came to our compartment on the train," Harry told him. "He was bragging, basically, about how we all had to watch our backs now because of this new group."

"As though we weren't doing that already," Ron noted. Harry nodded.

"Malfoy was offered a place but he turned it down, apparently," he continued. "Said he wouldn't debase himself working for Umbridge."

"Nott's the type who would," said Ernie. "Lowest of the low. He's been after me since third year when I caught him cheating on the Stats exam."

"Snitch," Ron muttered under his breath. Ernie frowned.

"What I'm worried about isn't so much about the forming of the group, but why now?" Hermione spoke up, interrupting any potential argument between the boys. "Does Umbridge know something? Perhaps she's got wind of the DA."

"If she's heard about the DA," Ernie said, getting panicked, "then it's probably only a matter of time before we get caught. Someone's going to see something, who knows when it'll happen." But Harry was shaking his head.

"She's got no idea about the DA, I'm sure of that," he said, his voice steady and calming the slightly hysterical Hufflepuff. "She knows something is up, she's known since we started. But she hasn't figured it out yet."

"You think she's still in the dark?" Asked Hermione. Harry nodded.

"If she knew what we were doing she'd go after us directly, but she hasn't. Plus, it fits her pattern. When she first heard something was happening she had all those cameras installed," he told her, recalling the morning they'd discovered the unwelcome addition as he looked up at the castle with a hardened stare. "That hasn't worked for her but she's still suspicious. Given she's had all Christmas to try and work out what we're up to it's hardly surprising she's done something like this. More eyes watching our every move, more pressure on people to sell us out to avoid trouble themselves. This isn't the end, not by a long shot. It's just her next move."

As her next move Harry had hope that it would be far from successful. After all, what could the Inquisitorial Squad really do, especially considering that none of them were members of the DA. The secret of their resistance had been held well, despite their rocky start, and now members had a very obvious marker of exactly who they needed to be wary of, the silver 'I's on their chests telling all those around just where their loyalties lie.

Still, their lack of ability to learn anything about the DA was not keeping them totally ineffective. Whilst lacking in brains they did have muscle and the authority with which they could wield indiscriminately. They were Umbridge's enforcers, her arm in the student body, and she'd recruited exactly the sort of people who relished in the process.

Hogwarts barely resembled what it had before, the tiniest of infractions being punished, particularly if your tie was red and gold. Just a couple of days back the student body were already cowering in fear of the wrath of the Inquisitorial Squad and the house points lost by three of the four houses quickly turned the tide completely in Slytherin's favour in the race for the House Cup.

It wore Harry down, sucking the very life out of him such that he didn't even care when he was docked ten points for having his shoelace undone or twenty for having his hair too scruffy. Never had he hated being at Hogwarts more than he did now and there were few places where he could find solace. There was no DA meeting until the second week of term, so many members skittish and worried to return, and Harry only had so many classes with Hagrid where he felt he could relax, a teacher's authority still trumping that of a squad member. With those two options limited Harry indulged in a third, visiting the Hospital Wing only a couple of days into the new term.

"Mr Potter," Madam Pomfrey greeted him, businesslike as always. "Can't say I'm surprised to see you here, though I'm hoping you are doing so as a visitor." Harry nodded mutely, moving over to the familiar cushion upon which rested the still unhatched Pokémon egg.

"How is it?" He asked, watching the egg and wondering again just what was waiting inside.

"Good," was Madam Pomfrey's simple reply. "Healthy. But there's been no movement. Just as well, really." Harry frowned. He looked up at the matron.

"Professor Umbridge," Madam Pomfrey stated. Just the name alone filled Harry with dread. "She was here, every day, checking to see if it was ready to hatch. Couldn't understand how I couldn't just tell her when it was due. Didn't seem to realise it wasn't my area."

Good thing the egg hadn't hatched, Harry agreed silently, turning his head back to the egg. It remained whole, looking pretty much exactly as it had when Harry had first seen it. How much longer could the Pokémon stay in there? Harry wished it would remain inside for as long as Umbridge remained in the school.

There was a small cracking sound and Harry blinked.

"Madam Pomfrey," he said nervously, straightening up as he focused in on the egg. Madam Pomfrey, drawn by the tone of his voice, closed in. There was another crack, this one louder.

"Oh my, it's hatching," she said, looking genuinely shocked. "Quick, Chansey, get the door, get the door." The large pink blob hurried forward, closing each of the Hospital Wing's large wooden doors one at a time as quickly as it could.

"Audino, my hatching kit," Madam Pomfrey instructed, approaching the egg from opposite Harry, watching with laser focused eyes as the egg continued to crack. Harry remembered Norbert's egg and how Hagrid seemed to have some warning of when it was hatching, but this wasn't anything like that. It was sudden, so quick that he barely had a moment to process what was happening, and Harry realised with his heart in his mouth that any moment now he was going to see the Pokémon that had been concealed so long from his gaze.

The cracks were getting louder now, spreading across the egg such that it looked like nothing was holding it together except for the Pokémon within. It started to glow, the light building up slowly until it started to obscure the egg itself, becoming blinding for a brief moment before it burst, Harry and Madam Pomfrey having to shield their eyes from the light, and exposed the tiny little Pokémon sitting inside.

It turned out it wasn't a ground type Pokémon after all. Or a flying type for that matter.

It was an Eevee.

"Wow," Harry breathed, looking down on the smallest Pokémon he had ever seen. The tiny little Eevee had its eyes closed, body curled in on its self, but started to blink blearily, as though waking up from a long sleep. Its four legs, each of them beautifully delicate, stretched out to their fullest, tiniest, extent, and the tiny baby Pokémon looked up…

… right at Harry.

"Vee?" It said curiously in the smallest, cutest little voice Harry had ever heard, tilting its head inquisitively to the side. It raised its head slightly into the air, giving a few delicate sniffs as if testing his fragrance.

"An Eevee," Madam Pomfrey said softly, drawing the tiny Pokémon's attention. It looked equally confused by Madam Pomfrey as it had by Harry, though it didn't seem frightened. Harry wondered if it even understood the concept of fright. It was so very, very young.


	25. The New Resident

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Harry spent little time with Eevee after it hatched. The tiny Pokémon was exhausted and lethargic, and Madam Pomfrey assured him that it was normal for newly hatched Pokémon to quickly tire themselves out. Norbert, apparently, was the exception.

Eevee had curled up to sleep by the time Harry left the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey keeping a careful watch over it, and Harry hurried so he could return to class.

The next day he returned first thing in the morning, Ron, Hermione and Ginny in toe. He was rushing down the corridors, moving so fast that the other three were struggling to keep up.

"Honestly, Harry, calm down," Hermione complained. "Eevee will still be there tomorrow, there's no need to rush." Harry ignored this for he knew that, while Hermione was right that Eevee wasn't going anywhere, she was also dead wrong. She hadn't seen Eevee yet, hadn't been captivated by his presence. She couldn't understand.

Harry was almost at the Hospital Wing, having not slowed down a jot since Hermione's complaint, when he bumped into two people he hadn't expected, but knew he wanted to see.

"Blimey, Harry, what's the rush?" Fred asked amusedly.

"Been having a whiff of that Oddish powder, eh," remarked George. Harry ignored the insinuation.

"Come with me," he told them. "You'll want to see this." And he continued forward, leaving Fred and George to hurry after him with the others that trailed in his wake.

He reached the Hospital Wing doors, firmly shut, and pushed them open.

"Vee," Eevee cried excitedly. He was standing up on the bed, being examined by Madam Pomfrey, but the moment Harry walked in he turned away, taking several quick steps over the comically large bed for his size towards Harry and jumping off it into his arms. Harry was forced to lurch forwards, Eevee's jump not carrying him anywhere near as far as he had intended, and caught the tiny fur ball in his cupped hands. Eevee seemed to show no signs of worry at almost falling and instead curled up in Harry's hands, gently licking his exposed wrist.

"Mr Potter, you're back," Madam Pomfrey said with an amused tone as she straightened up, acknowledging the other students that had followed Harry into the room. "And you've brought friends." Eevee, for the first time becoming aware of their presence in the room, twisted in Harry's hands so he could get a look.

"Oh my, he's so adorable," Hermione whispered, moving in close and gazing at Eevee with adoring eyes. All complaints she'd had earlier about Harry rushing to see him were gone. She was completely captivated by the Pokémon.

"Blimey, where'd this fellow come from?" George wondered, coming round the other side of Harry to peer down at the Pokémon.

"He hatched yesterday," Harry told them. "He was in that egg that Remus brought over last summer."

"Hard to imagine that this was just an egg," Fred commented, leaning against the side of the bed to see. "He's so small. You could probably carry him around in your pocket."

"Not that you should," Hermione said protective. Fred rolled his eyes.

"He's so cute," Ginny commented, ignoring the others. She was leaning over Harry's shoulder, a hand grasped on his arm to keep herself from falling, and her long red hair was tickling Harry's cheek and falling all the way down to the baby Eevee. He looked curiously at the strange red strands, sniffing tentatively before pawing at it, watching in amazement as it swung back and forth. Ginny giggled.

"Hem, hem." Harry's blood ran cold. He could feel everyone else jump and freeze in place, turning around as one to see the intruder standing in the doorway. Harry was slower to do so, taking great care to keep Eevee shielded from sight, as he looked over his shoulder.

Professor Umbridge was standing there, looking unpleasantly annoyed. Her face was wrinkled into a frown and she glared over at the students gathered around Eevee's bed.

"Yes, Professor Umbridge," Madam Pomfrey said curtly, hostility bubbling beneath the surface. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Professor Umbridge stepped forward and automatically everyone took a step back and, as the wall of Weasleys separated, Umbridge caught a glimpse of Eevee in Harry's arms.

"I was not aware the egg had hatched, Madam Pomfrey," she said stiffly. "I thought I made it quite clear that I was to be notified immediately when it did."

"The egg hatched very recently," Madam Pomfrey said simply. "You were here yesterday. If you'll recall Eevee was still in his egg at that time. Since the hatching I have been providing care, as is my job." Umbridge did not look happy.

"Give it here," she instructed, gesturing for Harry to hand over Eevee. "Give it here, Potter." Harry could not bring himself to do it. He could not hand over something so innocent to the likes of Delores Umbridge. Umbridge huffed.

"Fine then," she said and she reached out with one of her chunky little hands and wrapped her fingers around the tiny Eevee, pulling it easily from Harry's grasp and holding it up in the air. Eevee looked terrified, struggling in Umbridge's grip, and Harry felt the overwhelming urge to get him out.

Umbridge dropped Eevee into the palm of her hand, eyeing him critically.

"What is it?" She demanded, inspecting the tiny Pokémon.

"An Eevee, Delores," Madam Pomfrey told her crossly.

"And does it have any special abilities?" Umbridge asked.

"It has the ability Adaptability," Madam Pomfrey told her. "It increases the power of Eevee's normal type moves."

"And is that unusual?" Umbridge pressed. "Is this a special ability?"

"Adaptability is a common ability," Madam Pomfrey told her. "Many Eevee have it."

"And what else, there must be something," Umbridge snapped. "Biology? Moves?"

"Helping Hand, Growl, Tackle and Tail Whip," Madam Pomfrey provided. "This Eevee is normal for its species. There is nothing unusual about it."

Professor Umbridge did not look happy. "Keep me updated, Pomfrey," she told the matron, depositing Eevee into her hands, much to Harry's relief. "If anything unusual happens then I want to know immediately." She turned to the students. "Now what are you doing here?" They stayed silent.

"We're visiting Eevee," Harry said eventually. There was no point denying it. "I was here when he hatched." Umbridge's face went purple.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor, Mr Potter," she said angrily. "And don't you come near the Hospital Wing again. You are banned from visiting this Pokémon and if I catch you, and I will catch you, disobeying my instruction I'll be putting you in detention for the rest of the year."

Detention for the rest of the year didn't sound like the worst trade off for seeing Eevee again but Harry knew it was worse than that. Every day Professor Umbridge's power was growing and soon she'd be able to do a lot worse than simply assign detention.

"Now, out," Umbridge told them, sounding a little bit more composed now as her face started to return to its usual hew. "You are upsetting the Eevee with your presence. It needs peace and quiet, not nosy school children lurking about."

There were protests, the loudest coming from Fred and George, but twenty points later and a detention to the pair of them soon found the group of Gryffindors traipsing out the Hospital Wing doors. Harry looked over his shoulder as he went, seeing Eevee's distressed face from within the safety of Madam Pomfrey's cupped hands, and felt his heart break as the Hospital Wing doors were closed and Eevee was obscured from view.

"Damn it," Ron swore, glaring at the doors. "That mangy cow."

"She's a bitch, that's what she is," Fred agreed, his expression unusually angry.

"Makes you want to try out our latest ideas on her, doesn't it," agreed George. Hermione looked worried.

"Don't prank her," she pleaded with them. "It'll only make things worse."

"Hermione!"

"She'll know it's you," Hermione pointed it. "And she can punish you, terribly. We need to fight back in other ways, ways she won't know about. Like the DA."

"And what about Eevee?" Ginny asked, concerned. "What'll we do to look out for him?" The whole group fell silent.

"I have a plan," Harry said, his voice firm and determined. "And it'll work. I won't let Umbridge punish Eevee too."

* * *

Harry's plan for protecting Eevee wasn't shared with the others, for more reasons than just worry that it might not work. Unfortunately for him he couldn't set it into motion immediately, having to wait out the whole weekend before he could do anything. It left him horribly distracted, in class, doing homework, on the Quidditch pitch, and he was sure that people must be noticing that something was up but he didn't care. If his plan worked no one, not even his friends, would find out.

The day for which his plan was due to be set in motion was Monday, the second Monday back. With a full week under their belt it was decided that it was time to restart the DA. That weekend Harry, Hermione and Ron spread the word, making sure that everyone involved would hear before Monday morning. And it worked as Daphne Greengrass, by far the hardest of those they needed to reach, appeared in the Gryffindor fifth year's boy's dormitory at eight o'clock sharp.

"Daphne, hold on a sec," Harry said as Daphne went through her usual routine of passing over Gardevoir to Seamus. Daphne looked confused, usually she would be there and back to the Slytherin dungeons within just a minute with minimal fuss, but she accepted Harry's request to talk, obligingly wandering away from the others as Seamus started the process of gathering the DA.

"What is it, Potter?" She asked in a whisper. She clearly understood Harry's desire for secrecy.

"I need your help," Harry said simply. Daphne's eyebrow raised.

"You mean more than I'm already helping you?" She asked sardonically. Harry nodded.

"After the DA I need you to meet me back here with Gardevoir," Harry told her. "There's somewhere else I need to be and I need your help to get there." Daphne frowned.

"And why would I do that?" She asked. "Our agreement didn't include any favours."

"This isn't a favour," Harry told her. "I wouldn't ask this if it wasn't very important. I just need a way to travel from one part of the castle to another without being spotted by the cameras. Will you help me?" Daphne considered him for a moment.

"Alright," she said. "But if you're roping me into some sort of risky scheme I'm taking you to the highest tower and leaving you to find your own way back."

Harry nodded. He didn't intend to get into any trouble anyway. He turned away and soon Seamus was there with Gardevoir, waiting to take him away and Harry disappeared from his dorm room and reappeared in the dark and bitterly cold clearing in the forest, the rest of the DA huddled nervously together.

"There you are, Harry," Hermione murmured as she saw him appear, keeping her voice low as she huddled up against the cold night air. "Where were you? Why didn't you come with Ron and the others?"

"I'll explain later," Harry told her, his eyes on the group that were huddled together for warmth. "Is everyone here?"

"Yes," Hermione said.

"All of them?" Hermione nodded.

"They're worried," she told him. "With this new Inquisitorial Squad they're concerned about what's going to happen and whether we're going to get caught. But they all came. They still want to learn and battle and they all believe we need to prepare ourselves for what's coming. They're just a bit scared, that's all. They could use some encouragement."

Harry nodded. "Alright," he said. "Lets start." He took a step forward, walking up onto a small rocky outcropping which allowed him to see all the way to the back of the group, and allowed them to see him.

"Hello," he said in greeting, his breath coming out in a fog before his face. "Thanks for coming. I know a lot of you were nervous about doing this after the Inquisitorial Squad so I'm glad to see you all here." He took a breath.

"The Inquisitorial Squad is outrageous," he told them. "It gives Umbridge power and gives students the right to take out personal vendettas on each other, and mostly against us. But they do not know we are here tonight. Umbridge doesn't know we meet here or what exactly we do here. She just suspects that I'm doing something and so she's acting to try and stop me. It won't work." The group were completely silent as they listened to him. Not one of them made a sound.

"Now more than ever it is important that we practice and prepare ourselves," Harry told them. "Just before the Christmas holidays Voldemort made his first move." The whole group shivered for reasons having nothing to do with the cold. "He broke out some of his most loyal followers and now they are back at his side, recovering and getting ready to attack. They've already struck once. Ron's dad, Mr Weasley, was attacked, I'm sure you've all seen that in the papers. What the papers won't tell you is that he was attacked by an Arbok, the same Pokémon that Voldemort keeps at his side, and that he was attacked because he was protecting something that Voldemort wanted. He succeeded, the Arbok was driven away, but Voldemort will try again and now that he's making moves it is only a matter of time." He paused.

"And so we'll be working even harder than before," he told the group. "I know you enjoy these sessions and that you do still try hard, but there's no time for games now. Now we must train ourselves and our Pokémon to be ready for when Voldemort finally chooses to show himself."

"If you want to back out now you still have that option," he told them in a softer voice. "So long as you keep our secret you have no obligation to be here. I know I'm asking a lot from you, that I'm asking a lot from your trust, and if you feel you can't give it or you are better off not coming to these meetings then I'll fully understand. All you need to do is tell me."

No one moved. No one spoke. Not a sound was heard except for the soft whistling of the wind in the night. Either they were too scared or they were ready, either way Harry would find out when they gathered next time. He nodded.

"Ron," he said, turning to the red head and indicating for him to speak, and Ron stepped forward.

They'd drawn up plans over the weekend, detailed, sophisticated plans that they'd discussed and debated, gone back and forth on, but eventually settled on as being in the best interests of the group.

As Ron marshalled the DA, dividing them up into their pairings for the practice battles they were about to undertake, Harry wondered whether he was doing the right thing. The rigidity of their plan, the way they were forcing it upon the DA without their input, worried Harry. Watching from his slightly elevated position the members of the DA looked like soldiers, awaiting and accepting their orders, and Harry could only hope that he never had to lead any of them into battle.

While he may have had misgivings with the direction the DA was taking he couldn't complain about the results. Even since last meeting when they'd broken up for Christmas the improvement was enormous. Whether the DA members had been practicing over the holidays or Harry had managed to instil how serious the situation was each and every person looked determined, strong, and ready for battle. And as Harry wandered around the edge of the clearing, keeping his distance as Fred's Magmar blasted a Flamethrower at Dean's Hariyama, he found solace in the fact that at least these students would be ready to defend themselves.

The meeting came to a stop amid a bunch of determined faces and some rather bashed and beaten up looking Pokémon. Harry wondered whether Madam Pomfrey would start putting two and two together and realise what was going on with the increased admissions to the Hospital Wing.

The DA members made their way back to their dormitories, Gardevoir flashing in and out of sight as the crowd became thinner and thinner until it was just the fifth year Gryffindor boys that were left to go.

"See you, Gardevoir," Seamus said lazily, waving to the Pokémon once they were in the safety of their dormitory as the powerful psychic type disappeared without a sound.

With the Pokémon gone Seamus fell back on his bed, hands behind his head. Neville nervously picked at his school books for the next day while Ron took off his socks and threw them into a pile beside his bed. Dean walked into the bathroom.

Harry didn't do any of these things, sitting on the side of his bed expectantly, and he was the only one who wasn't surprised when Gardevoir returned, Daphne Greengrass in toe.

"Bloody hell," Ron swore. He'd been halfway through taking off his shirt when Daphne appeared. Seamus sat up, eyebrows raised, and Neville stopped dead, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Potter," Daphne said simply, fixing a firm look on Harry. He nodded and got to his feet.

"What's goin' on?" Seamus asked, looking between Harry and Daphne in confusion.

"Nothing," Harry told him. "It's not got anything to do with the DA."

"Then what's it about?" Neville asked nervously. He was never comfortable when Daphne was there. Harry wasn't sure whether it was because she was a Slytherin or because she was a girl. Probably both.

"Harry," Ron said, standing up with a look of realisation on his face. "Is this…?" Harry nodded.

"What?" Seamus asked, looking between Harry and Ron now.

"I'd like to know that myself," Daphne pointed out. "Since I am supposed to be helping you. Believe me, I take no pleasure in being here."

"Are you sure?" Seamus asked with a wicked grin. Daphne turned away.

"I need you to take me to the Hospital Wing," Harry told her. "There's someone I need to visit there but Umbridge has banned me and there are cameras all over the corridor outside."

"I didn't know there was anyone in the Hospital Wing," Seamus commented.

"Who's in the Hospital Wing?" came the voice of Dean just moments before he appeared in the door to the bathroom, shirtless. He looked at Daphne in surprise. "What's going on?"

Harry turned to Ron. "Can you explain?" He asked. Now that his plan was almost started he felt an intense urge to be gone. Ron nodded. Harry turned to Daphne.

"I suppose I can help you," she said with a long suffering sigh. She gestured to Gardevoir. "The Hospital Wing, then?" Harry nodded. Daphne exchanged a look with Gardevoir and a moment later they were gone.

The Hospital Wing was a much different place under the cover of night, as Harry knew from personal experience as he'd been a visitor more times than he cared to remember. Usually it was quiet, and often it was empty as most people tended not to get injured enough to require long term stay.

This night there was only one inhabitant and Harry swiftly moved towards their bed, keeping as silent as possible so as to avoid arousing the attention of Madam Pomfrey in the adjoining room.

He sat down next to Eevee's bed.

"Vee?" The tiny little Pokémon had been asleep when Harry had arrived but it had somehow sensed his presence anyway. He blinked blearily, his adorable round eyes filled with sleep, and shook his head slightly to clear out the cobwebs. Then he looked up.

"Hey," Harry said softly, smiling down at the Pokémon.

"Vee!" Eevee cried out and he ran over to the edge of the bed and leapt into Harry's arms. Closer this time, and not so surprised, Harry caught the baby Pokémon with ease, quickly cradling the tiny little Eevee up to his chest. Eevee rubbed his head against Harry's chin, seeming to try and push himself as close as physically possible to him and Harry smiled as he felt the worry lift off his shoulders. He should've known Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let anything happen to Eevee. It just made him feel so much better to see it with his own eyes.

As Eevee snuggled up to Harry Daphne approached the bed, taking a seat silently on the other side and watching the human and Pokémon with a surprisingly soft look in her eyes. Harry supposed it was Eevee; there was no heart he could not melt.

"I know you're probably a bit annoyed at the deception," Harry told her, finding it hard to be sorry for it. "Seamus was right, there isn't anyone here I wanted to visit. Just Eevee."

"I forgive you, Potter," Daphne told him, rolling her eyes lightly. "You know you could have just told me the truth. Even Slytherins like cute Pokémon." Harry smiled.

"He hatched last Thursday," Harry told her, making conversation as Eevee got comfortable in his arms. "You see, I found him as an egg last summer and brought him here for Madam Pomfrey to look after. I've been visiting as often as I can get away with but Umbridge has been really interested in the egg." Daphne raised an eyebrow.

"It's because I brought it," Harry explained. "She thinks that Eevee is going to have some sort of special powers and that Dumbledore gave it to me for some reason. That's why when she realised Eevee had hatched she banned me from visiting."

"Which is why you requested my help," Daphne finished for him. Harry nodded.

"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't be taking advantage of you like this," Harry told her. "I was just so worried about Eevee and just had to see him, by any means necessary."

"I understand," Daphne told him and Harry looked up. "My Nidoqueen was given to me as an egg before I started my second year. I was up here checking on it all the time and when it hatched I just couldn't leave her side. Of course this was second year so Madam Pomfrey didn't want to keep anything around the Hospital Wing so she sent her back with me to look after. The bond built between a trainer and a Pokémon they hatch is something that no one can understand, unless they've experienced it themselves."

Harry smiled. Daphne, it seemed, understood him. In fact, she understood him in a way even Ron and Hermione could not. They had not been there when Eevee had hatched, they had not been there when he had turned those wide innocent eyes on Harry for the first time. They couldn't understand Harry's need to be with him.

"Will you help me?" Harry asked, tearing his eyes away from Eevee who was snoozing now in his arms. "Will you help me visit?" Daphne smiled.

"I'll send Gardevoir round the same time tomorrow," she told him and Harry let out a broad smile. "But you've got to be careful. Eevee will need to learn independence and you can't always be there. Don't get sucked into spending too much time with him. Madam Pomfrey will keep him safe."

"I will, I promise," Harry told her though inside he thought how impossible that really was. Already he was having a hard time letting go. "I suppose we should probably leave." Eevee was fast asleep in his arms. He needed his rest.

As carefully as Harry could he transferred Eevee from his arms to the bed, trying his best not to wake the delicate little Pokémon as he did so. Eevee stirred as he was moved away from the warmth of Harry's body, making him pause, but didn't wake up and so Harry was able to silently slip away across the room to where Gardevoir was waiting. Daphne followed him.

"Thank you," Harry said softly, trying to keep his voice as low as possible as he glanced back to where Eevee lay. "Thank you so much for helping me."

Daphne smiled. She'd probably done more of that here tonight than she had in the whole time Harry had known her. It had a remarkable effect on the girl. She was always beautiful, even Ron would admit that, but smiling gave her something more, something undeniably warm.

"I've got to admit I'm glad I was here," she told him softly. "Who would have thought Harry Potter had a soft side."

Harry didn't know what caused him to do it, the question would plague his mind for months to come, but in that moment, with moonlight streaming through the windows and illuminating her perfect visage, he felt like it was right. As always he went with instinct. He took a step forward, closing the distance between them, and pressed his lips to hers.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hi everyone, hope you've enjoyed the chapter. I just wanted to let you all know that I'll be quite busy over the next few weeks and so I might not be uploading as often as usual. This is only temporary, I'll be back to my normal uploads soon.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter.


	26. Errol's Journey

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

It was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. Daphne's lips, so smooth and perfect to look at, were surprisingly warm as they moved against his. Her cheek, resting beneath his palm, was soft to the touch. He wished he could hold her forever.

Time seemed to stand still for Harry, except it could not as he found himself out of oxygen and he reluctantly allowed his lips to separate from Daphne's. His breath, coming out heavy, matched hers and he allowed his eyes ever so slowly to rise up to meet Daphne's crystalline blue orbs.

"Potter," she breathed, her voice harsh in the silence of the Hospital Wing, and Harry suddenly came crashing back to earth.

"Sorry," he said hastily. "I didn't mean…" But what could he say? He did mean it; he had done it.

Daphne took in a shaky breath. "Don't tell anyone what happened," she told him firmly. "If you dare…"

"I won't," Harry said, and he meant it. "I promise." He hesitated. How could he bring this up delicately?

Daphne scowled. "Spit it out."

"You'll still help us?" Harry asked anxiously. Daphne nodded. "And… and visiting Eevee?" Daphne's expression softened ever so slightly.

"I'll send Gardevoir tomorrow," she told him. "But this is the last you'll see of me." And she meant it for a moment later she was gone and Harry was left alone.

* * *

Thoughts of Daphne Greengrass plagued Harry's mind in the days and weeks that followed. Never before had Harry ever done something so forward as to kiss someone and the fact that it had been Daphne, someone he'd barely spoken to before the start of the year, completely threw him. What had caused him to do it? Had he just been vulnerable, overcome with emotion due to the hatching of Eevee? Had he been tired, drained from the tough DA session and the late hour their trip to the Hospital Wing had occurred? Did he actually like her? Or was he just confused?

The answers to these questions were nowhere to be found but there were some he had been able to sort out. The first of which was the matter of whether Daphne would continue helping him, both with the DA and with Eevee. Daphne had promised to do so, yet she had also left Harry alone in the Hospital Wing with no obvious method of getting back to the Gryffindor Common Room. In the end he had resorted to sneaking out the window, ever so carefully guiding Charizard around the school so as to avoid being in sight of any of the windows and, by proxy, any of the cameras.

It turned out his worries were laid to rest the next night as Gardevoir appeared before him in the dormitory at the exact same time as the previous night, though without Daphne present. She did, however, join them before the DA meeting later that week, though she avoided even looking at Harry. Still, that was a lot more than Harry could have possibly hoped for given what had happened.

His internal struggles, though he did his best to hide them, did not go unnoticed by Ron and Hermione, although Ron at least seemed clueless as to what might have been the cause. Hermione was not so easily put off.

"Ron told me you went to the Hospital Wing with Daphne Greengrass," she whispered over to him that Saturday morning at the breakfast table. It was a bright morning, one that led to a relaxed atmosphere which was much needed after yet another week of the Inquisitorial Squad making everybody's lives miserable. Harry himself had already lost at least fifty points. He'd stopped counting after he noticed the Gryffindor hour glass showing their score approaching zero.

"Yeah," Harry said, trying to appear disinterested. "What of it?" Hermione had been certain that something had happened and had taken every opportunity to try and interrogate Harry about anything she thought might be related to his current mood. Harry, meanwhile, had done his best to throw her off the scent. This was something he didn't feel comfortable talking about yet.

"Did anything happen?" Hermione asked, leaning forward eagerly. Harry shrugged.

"Nothing much," he told her in as casual a voice as he could manage. "Got to see Eevee and now Daphne is sending over Gardevoir every day. It was a good thing." Harry doubted he'd convinced her, Hermione was the most observant person he knew, but he wasn't ready to spill the beans just yet. Hermione took in a breath.

"Daphne's been acting awfully weird lately, hasn't she?" She said, her voice leading. It was Ron who answered her.

"She has?" He said, bewildered. "How can you tell?" He glanced over to where Daphne was sitting at the Slytherin table in mid-conversation with Tracey Davis.

It was a good point, Harry thought, Daphne had acted completely normal, at least as far as he could see. The thing was they simply did not spend anywhere near enough time together for them notice such things. If her friends in Slytherin noticed anything unusual they weren't going to tell.

It seemed like Hermione had some point to argue, taking a breath and opening her mouth to speak, but at that moment the morning post arrived, flying types of all varieties swooping down from the upper windows and, on this particular occasion, one swooped down to Ron.

"Errol," he said, looking down at the elderly Noctowl with a worried expression. "What happened to you?"

Errol, the Weasley family's elderly Noctowl, was not often used to send letters on account of being so old that the long journey to Hogwarts was something he couldn't manage more than three or four times a year. Harry had only seen him there once this year, delivering some small package to Ginny, and he had looked about ready to keel over then.

It was another matter altogether now. Errol, having landed roughly with one foot firmly in the cereal bowl, had collapsed to the table, only just assuring them he was still alive by the random fluttering of his wings and the tilt of his head as he tiredly tried to right himself.

"Maybe he needs a potion," Hermione suggested, all thoughts of interrogating Harry gone as she looked in worry as Ron helped the Noctowl to his feet.

"You got any handy?" Ron asked, struggling slightly with the awkward task of holding up the feathered Pokémon as he got his feet securely under him. Hermione, in lieu of answering, disappeared into her bag and quickly came up with a basic potion spray, handing it to Ron. Ron examined Noctowl critically.

"Where should I even spray this?" he said, gently pulling out Noctowl's wings to examine them. "He's bashed up all over."

"Try the wing joints," Hermione said quickly. "They'll be most useful if he's going to attempt to fly back."

"We might have to check him in with Madam Pomfrey before that," Ron told her but he sprayed anyway, adding a spray onto each of Noctowl's clawed feet as he stood gingerly on the tabletop. It was at this point he noticed the letter tied to his leg.

"For me, I guess," Ron said, untying it carefully to avoid injuring Noctowl further. "From mum, I bet," he told them before disappearing into the letter.

As Ron read Hermione turned back to Harry.

"I don't know what happened but I know something is bothering you, Harry," Hermione told him point blank. Harry had hoped she'd forgotten.

"I'm fine," Harry tried to assure her, which was difficult due to how tired he sounded saying it. Hermione just gave him a distinctly unimpressed look.

"Come on, Harry, we both know that isn't true," she told him. "Look, I'm not accusing you of anything but I know something happened on Monday night. You were fine after the DA meeting and then the next morning you were so on edge and nervous and…" Hermione glanced around quickly before dropping her voice. "And I don't think you've noticed but you've been looking at Daphne a lot."

"I have?" Harry asked, shocked. Hermione nodded grimly. Well, that just wouldn't do, and not just because it gave Hermione hints as to what had happened that night in the Hospital Wing. No one could know that Daphne was helping them. If Harry kept looking at her then someone in Slytherin was almost bound to figure something out. They weren't all as stupid as Crabbe and Goyle.

"Hey, Hermione, can you pass me some paper?" Ron asked, completely oblivious to their conversation. Hermione did as he asked and he thanked her, not having even looked up from the letter he'd received from home in the process. Hermione turned back to Harry.

"I know what you're like, Harry, and I know you don't want to admit there might be something wrong," Hermione said. "I know you feel you've got to be strong but you _are_ strong Harry and you don't need to convince me of that. If you have a problem then just tell me and I'll help you. We'll both help you."

Harry considered her, the thought of telling her the truth growing more and more attractive with every second, and then turned to Ron. If there was ever anyone that could help him it would be his best friends. But then he thought of Daphne. She'd expressly forbid him from mentioning what had happened to anyone.

"Okay, you're right," Harry admitted in a low voice, feeling somewhat relieved to finally admit it. "Something happened with me and Daphne but I can't say, I promised not to. Just… remember that I will work it out."

"If there's a problem we can help you," Hermione told him. "If it's something to do with the DA…"

"It's not," Harry said quickly. "It's not got anything to do with the DA or Umbridge or Voldemort or anything."

"Then what is it?" Hermione asked, genuinely confused.

"I can't tell you," Harry reaffirmed. He'd already put Daphne in a position she clearly didn't want to be in, he wasn't about to break her trust now.

Hermione didn't seem particularly happy at this response but it seemed that Harry had satisfied her enough that she backed down, at least for now. It was a welcome relief and Harry was able to eat the remainder of his breakfast in peace, thinking that perhaps he should have just been honest with Hermione in the first place. Either way they would have ended up in this position.

"Done," Ron said firmly, pressing his pen with finality into the paper before folding it up.

"That was pretty quick," Hermione commented, raising an eyebrow. Ron shrugged.

"Well, there's only so much you can say, is there," he reminded her. "Can't put much of what we're doing here in a letter. I only really talked about Quidditch practice to be honest."

"It is only a couple of weeks into the term," Harry backed Ron up. "The only thing that's really happened is Eevee hatching."

"Shit," Ron muttered, unfolding the paper and hurriedly scrawling at the very bottom of the page. Hermione rolled her eyes. "There. Now I'm done." He tied the letter to Errol's leg.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to send it with Errol?" Hermione wondered, eyeing the Noctowl with a concerned expression. It still looked rather frail. Then again Errol always looked frail.

"Why don't we walk down to the front gates," Harry suggested. "Give Errol some fresh air before we send him off."

"Good idea, mate," Ron agreed, standing up and gesturing to Errol. "Come on, up you get." Errol fluttered his wings, spreading a couple of feathers into Neville's bowl of soup, and alighted on Ron's outstretched arm. "Lets go."

The grounds were surprisingly warm for January, though that was mostly due to the sun beaming down on them and the lack of any wind. The grass was still frosty underfoot, a reminder that the winter season was still yet to pass, and even under the light of the sun Harry was still grateful for the warmth provided by his Christmas jumper from Mrs Weasley.

"Nice day, isn't it," Ron commented as they walked down, Errol dozing on his arm. "Hope it's like this for the next match." The Quidditch season was due to restart and Gryffindor's first game would be against Hufflepuff. It was a game they really should expect to win and one they had to win to keep the fate of the Quidditch Cup in their hands.

"It'll be nice when it starts to get lighter later," Hermione commented, not so interested in the sport. "Grass type Pokémon are at a severe disadvantage in the dark. I haven't seen a single Pokémon pull off a Solar Beam during our meetings."

"Can't Solar Beam if there's no sun," Ron agreed before coming to a stop. "You reckon this is far enough?" He asked, looking out over the grounds before them. It was a fairly steep hill down to the front gates but as the Noctowl flies it was virtually no distance at all.

Ron poked Errol awake. "Ready, buddy," he said. Errol ruffled up his feathers in response, looking significantly better than he had when he arrived, and launched himself, slightly haphazardly, into the air. He soared towards the Hogwarts gates.

A bolt of electricity shot through the air, so close to Errol that he was forced to pull up to avoid it.

"Hey! What's going on?!" Ron shouted, shocked by what was happening as Harry and Hermione watched stunned. "Go, Errol, quickly!" But another electric bolt shot in the air as Errol tried to obey the command and it was followed a moment later by a rather large Pokémon.

The Gliscor floated menacingly into the air and Errol automatically tried to get away but Gliscor clamped its claws around the Noctowl's struggling wings. Its stinger like tail curled underneath him, completely encasing Errol in its grasp, and it floated down towards the ground with its prey.

"Errol!" Ron shouted and he hurried after him, slipping and sliding down the grassy slope as he followed Gliscor's path, Harry and Hermione following closely behind him.

Gliscor was not going far, dropping over the other side of the castle walls, and Harry, Ron and Hermione hurried to the gate to try and see where it had landed.

What they saw, instead, was a group of three men sitting at a foldaway table watching as Gliscor lowered to the ground. One of them, a large man with his shirt stretching over his bulky frame, walked over to the Gliscor without worry, Gliscor unfolding its tail to reveal the struggling Noctowl.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Ron shouted angrily through the gate, unable to do much more than yell and rattle the bars as he was too far away to reach them. The large man turned, surprised, and grunted a response.

"None of your business," he growled. "Now piss off."

"You leave Errol alone!" Hermione shouted, joining Ron in his anger. "You have no right to detain him!"

"Or what?" The brute asked. "What are you going to do, girlie? Stuck behind those bars, aren't you." Hermione grit her teeth angrily. Ron went for his Pokéballs.

"Ah, ah, ah," a familiar sickly sweet voice spoke from behind them and Ron froze, his hand clasped around Arcanine's Pokéball. "I don't think so, Mr Weasley. No battling at Hogwarts."

"But Professor," Ron complained, turning to Professor Umbridge and making his case even though he knew it would be useless. "They attacked Errol!"

"Tut tut, shouting won't do you any good," Professor Umbridge said without losing that sweet, fake smile. "These fine gentlemen did not attack this Noctowl. No, they simply corralled it."

"Noctowl's hurt," Hermione told her. "He can't take such treatment."

"These are the new rules, Ms Granger," Umbridge said sweetly. "Have you not been paying attention? All incoming and outgoing mail will be screened to ensure no extremest messages are being passed in relation to the horrendous rumours about the return of You-know-who. These men are from the Ministry and are charged with making sure that no correspondence enters or leaves without Ministry approval."

"You're reading our mail?" Said Hermione, aghast.

"To ensure the safety of Pokémon society we must all make sacrifices, Ms Granger," said Professor Umbridge with a smug smile. "I'm afraid a few bumps and bruises are necessary to assure such protection."

"Bumps and bruises," Ron repeated, his whole body shaking angrily. "Errol's hurt! You can't do this, he can't even fly anymore after what that Gliscor's done to him!"

"He managed to get in here, didn't he," Umbridge pointed out. "Do you think he somehow managed to bypass the screening, Mr Weasley?" Ron's face went red.

"You bitch!" He snarled and Harry and Hermione had to act quickly to physically hold him back as he made a move towards Umbridge, hands clenched into fists.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor, Mr Weasley," Umbridge said, her voice high and shrill. "And a whole week's worth of detention." Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw Hermione flinch. Clearly she remembered her own detentions at the hand of Umbridge. Could Ron even handle that without lashing out?

"Such language may have been tolerated before my arrival, Mr Weasley," Umbridge told him, breathing heavily. "But with me as High Inquisitor I will not stand for such insubordination." She looked around, past the three students to the gate and over to where the Ministry employees were watching.

"You," she said, gesturing to the brutish man who appeared to be commanding the Gliscor. "Get that letter for me. Lets see what was so important that Mr Weasley needed to disrespect a teacher in order to protect."

"No," Hermione whispered, looking shocked as the brutish man pulled the letter roughly from Noctowl's leg without a care and walked up to the gate, sliding it through the bars to where Umbridge accepted it. She unfolded it crisply, taking great delight in the process, and cleared her throat.

"'Dear Mummy'," she began and the brute on the other side of the bars sniggered. "'Thank you for reminding me about the fudge you gave me for Christmas, Harry loves the stuff so I think I'll share with him'. How generous, Mr Weasley." She let out a girly giggle. Ron's fists clenched tightly. "'Fred and George haven't got into too much trouble and I think Ginny's doing good too. Anyway, not much going on here. Been practicing Quidditch a lot for the next match. Can't wait for summer. Love you loads, Ron'."

Professor Umbridge finished reading, seemingly missing the last minute addition Ron had scrawled on the bottom, and folded it up, a smug look on her face.

"Give it back to the bird," she instructed the brute, passing the letter back through the gate. The man accepted it with a gleeful smirk, eyes fixed on Ron as he took it and walked back to where Gliscor continued to hold Errol hostage. He grabbed a piece of rope and tied the letter roughly to Errol's leg, much to the Noctowl's discomfort, before commanding Gliscor to release him. Errol fluttered painfully forward, his legs looking bent and misshapen and feathers coming loose as he struggled his way down the path to Hogsmeade.

Harry, Ron and Hermione watched him go, each feeling heartache as they thought of the pain that Errol was going through and even with that pain how he was doing his best to deliver Ron's message.

"Bitch," Ron growled under his breath, quietly enough that Umbridge fortunately didn't hear him. She did, however, address him.

"I hope that will be enough of a reminder for you to stay in line, Mr Weasley," she said sweetly. "After all, if you are to continue to disobey my instructions you may not find yourself a student at this school any longer." She smiled. "I'll see you Monday after class for your first detention, Mr Weasley, and don't be late." And she walked off back up to the castle, her stubby legs moving quickly beneath her, with the hateful glares of three furious students following behind her.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hi everyone, hope you've enjoyed this chapter. After the response to the last chapter I feel kind of bad for just how bad things ended up going between Harry and Daphne in this chapter, especially considering you had to wait longer than usual for this chapter to go up.

Unfortunately I'm still not going to be back to my usual schedule for at least another week or so. After that I'll be able to upload as usual but until then I hope you've enjoyed what I've written so far and I'll see you in the next chapter.


	27. Escalation

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Ron fumed in silence after their confrontation with Umbridge, refusing to speak to either Harry or Hermione, and it was only after sitting down for tea with Hagrid and helping him run some errands in the forest that Ron was able to regain the ability to open his mouth without swearing. He nevertheless didn't forget about what had happened and even as he loosened up Harry could tell he was determined to get his revenge.

The DA reacted in much the same way upon hearing the news.

"No way! They can't do that!" Ernie McMillan shouted indignantly.

"That's bullshit!" Agreed Lee.

"They've been reading our letters since the start of term!" Cried Alicia, looking sick.

This led to a rather interesting sequence of events, one that Professor Umbridge certainly hadn't prepared for. Fred and George, though having originally heeded Hermione's warning about not messing with Umbridge, saw this as the perfect excuse to go back on their word. And they did it in style.

The next day Fred and George could be found in the Gryffindor Common Room, surrounded by other Gryffindor students they'd drafted in to help, copying entire pages out of various library books onto blank sheets of paper. The day after the two of them trekked into the forest and recruited themselves an army of Pidgey to deliver them.

The outrage and dismay of the Ministry officials at the front gate was immortalised on Colin's camera as literally hundreds of tiny Pidgey swooped down upon them, insisting that their letters be accepted by the three men at the gate.

It was fitting justice. Harry could only hope it made them pause before trying to go rifling through anybody else's mail.

This, of course, sparked the next in the line of events that would come to dominate the Hogwarts gossip over the next few weeks. As Hermione had warned them Umbridge was fully aware of just who was behind the prank on the Ministry workers and assigned each of the Weasley twins a week of detention with her.

Nobody knew what exactly Fred and George did during this time, the twins were remaining tight lipped with smug looks on their faces, but by the time the combined two weeks of detention were up it was Umbridge that was looking the worse for wear.

Not that everything was smooth sailing for the anti-Umbridge factions in the school. As the pranks started to become common place the Inquisitorial Squad began fighting back, taking more points and assigning more detentions than ever before. Nott in particular seemed to be on the war path, taking more points from Harry personally than Harry was aware he'd ever lost in his life.

All in all the aftershock of Umbridge's mockery of Ron was that the Inquisitorial Squad and the Weasley twins found themselves in a state of all out war and school had broken down into chaos.

And of course Umbridge's reaction to chaos was to try and assume further control. That is how it came to be that the now traditional Pokémon Battling competition on Valentine's Day was cancelled.

"Oh, man," Ron groaned as he read the notice pinned up in the Gryffindor Common Room. "This sucks."

"It's hardly surprising though," Hermione commented, taking a seat in one of the many squashy armchairs in the room. "Professor Umbridge doesn't want us battling at all. It would have been very unusual if she'd let the competition go ahead."

"Besides, we get enough practice anyway," Harry reminded him. The DA was still going strong, stronger than ever even as everyone became aware of the net that was closing in around them at Hogwarts. It may not have been Harry's intention to train them to combat the Ministry but more and more these days that was what it was about. Voldemort was an abstract problem. The threat of the Ministry was very real and was represented in the form of Delores Jane Umbridge.

Harry was jolted from his thoughts by the arrival of Parvati and Lavender, both looking glum.

"Have you heard the news?" Lavender asked.

"Yeah, we just read," Ron said, pointing to the noticeboard. Lavender shook her head.

"It's not just that," she told him. "It's the entire Valentine's Day schedule. All those classes that the teachers would give are cancelled too. I heard she tried to cancel the Hogsmeade visit too but Dumbledore put his foot down."

"That wouldn't have gone down well," Harry commented wryly. Lavender shook her head.

"It is good to know Dumbledore still has some influence," she said. "Sometimes it feels as though he's not even here." Sometimes Harry agreed with her. Professor Dumbledore, though he sat at the staff table during meals and continued to be a steadying presence for the students to look up to, had been almost entirely silent since term began. Harry had to wonder just how much trouble he was having keeping the Ministry at bay.

Harry shook his head, trying to turn his mind to brighter topics. "Well, at least we still have Hogsmeade," he said in a light and hopefully positive voice. "Are you guys doing anything? You and Dean must have plans, right Parvati?" Parvati let out a sob, covering her face with her hand, and rushed out of her seat and up the stairs to the girls dormitories.

Harry was stunned.

"What did I say?" He asked, completely taken aback. Ron, too, didn't look like he had a clue as to what had just happened. Hermione and Lavender, on the other hand, did. Lavender sighed.

"It's not you, Harry," she told him comfortingly, patting him on the shoulder. "It's Dean. He and Parvati have been having problems recently. They were supposed to go out together this weekend but… anyway, I probably shouldn't tell."

"Blimey," Ron said. "I had no idea. Are you sure? Dean hasn't said anything." Lavender's expression grew hostile very quickly.

"I think I know my friends better than you do, Ronald," she snapped, Ron leaning back in surprise. "And I wouldn't be so nippy about it. It's your sister that's the problem, Weasley, so shut your mouth, if you know what's good for you." Ron was speechless under the verbal assault and he could only hold his hands up defensively and wait for Lavender to stop, which she did. She stood up.

"I'm going to go check on Parvati," Lavender said crossly. "I'll see you later Hermione, Harry." And she left, stalking over to the staircase and out of sight.

"Bloody hell," Ron swore. Notably he held back until after Lavender disappeared from view. "What the hell was that?" Hermione sighed.

"Lavender's a bit protective of Parvati at the moment," she admitted. "They are really close friends."

"And what's that got to do with me?" Ron asked, looking bewildered.

"Well," Hermione said cautiously, biting her lip. "It's as Lavender said, isn't it. She's not really mad at you, she's mad at Ginny."

"Why?"

Hermione sighed. "She thinks Ginny is making a move on Dean," Hermione told him in a voice that clearly conveyed just how little she wanted to discuss this. "She thinks that Ginny is trying to get with Dean and ruin his relationship with Parvati."

"But that's ridiculous," Ron told her. "Ginny wouldn't do that. Ginny doesn't even like Dean." Hermione didn't look quite so sure.

"She is spending quite a lot of time with him at DA meetings," she said simply, deliberately not pointing any fingers.

"Meaning?" Ron challenged.

"Meaning you can understand why Lavender thinks that she might," Hermione said. "Dean and Parvati are having real problems that just so happen to coincide with Ginny and Dean getting more friendly. I doubt it's a coincidence."

"Wait, wait, are you seriously accusing my sister of…" Ron trailed off, outraged.

"Yeah, Hermione, that's a bit cold," Harry agreed. He knew Ginny quite well now, what with Quidditch practice and regular DA meetings, not to mention the multiple summers they'd spent in the same household.

Hermione, however, was shaking her head.

"No, no, you misunderstand," she assured them. "I'm not accusing Ginny of anything. I'm just saying that I think Dean might have a little thing for her, just enough to make him question his relationship with Parvati. It doesn't help that Ginny broke up with Michael." That was news to Harry.

"They broke up?" He asked. Hermione nodded.

"A few weeks ago, and for the exact same reason," Hermione told him. "Michael was getting jealous of the way Ginny seemed to like spending time with Dean and Ginny just got tired of it and dumped him. I'm not saying she dumped him for Dean, we all know Ginny doesn't stand for petty jealousy, but you've got to admit to someone else it does look suspicious."

"Yeah, but it's not like Dean would ever like Ginny," Ron said as though the idea was ludicrous. "She's my little sister."

"She's only a year younger than him," Hermione reminded him.

"Yeah, but," Ron said, shaking his head. "Look, even if Dean liked Ginny it's not like he'd do anything about it. He'd know I would clobber him if he tried anything. I know Dean's not you-smart but give the guy some credit."

Yet Harry wondered if that were really true. Did Dean know this or did he perhaps suspect that he was good enough friends with Ron that he'd be okay with it? Harry knew Ron well enough that he wouldn't _actually_ clobber Dean but if Dean thought he was just going to act normal he'd be in for a real surprise.

Even so, Harry pondered the idea that Ginny and Dean might like each other. Dean certainly was struggling in his relationship with Parvati, admitting that the two of them had gone 'on a break' while they tried to sort things out. And although he was clearly taking the situation better than Parvati he hardly looked like a guy who had things going his way.

On the other hand Ginny couldn't be happier, though Harry had to admit his perspective was skewed by the fact he mostly saw her doing the two things she loved more than anything else; battling in the DA and playing Quidditch.

In Quidditch in particular Ginny was really proving herself to be completely without any form of restraint. Her tryout had been promising, although there had obviously been massive room for improvement, and she and Haunter had risen to the task of trying to fill the void that Fred and George's absence left in the team, getting the occasional hint from Fred and George themselves.

If only the same could be said about Andrew Kirke. While Ginny rose to new heights with each and every practice, getting more in sync with the three Chasers and even with Harry and Talonflame, Kirke had not improved one iota since being picked. If anything he was getting worse. His Gligar, though trying his best, was a lightweight and struggled to even keep up with the rest of the team, let alone do anything to help them. Harry personally thought that any one of the Pokémon possessed by the other six trainers in the team could have done a more convincing job.

Given everything he'd witnessed Harry wondered if it wouldn't be better replacing him, even if the match was only a week away. In his mind he had already considered asking Dean to take the role with his newly evolved Glalie or Seamus with his Hawlucha. He knew Angelina was probably having similar thoughts but she seemed reluctant to pull the trigger and so come the morning of the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match Andrew Kirke remained in the team.

"Nervous?" Harry asked over breakfast, the Gryffindor team gathered together in an effort to bolster morale in their two new recruits. It seemed to make little difference.

"A bit," Ginny admitted though she seemed rather at ease, her posture and attitude not befitting someone preparing to perform in front of the school for the first time.

By contrast Kirke didn't even answer. Harry wondered if he'd heard him or if he was just so paralysed with fear that he couldn't respond.

"Don't be," Angelina said brusquely, directing her words almost exclusively at Ginny. The dark skinned girl had taken quite a liking to the youngest Weasley. "We're going to win." She said it with such finality Harry couldn't doubt it.

Half an hour later they'd risen from the Gryffindor table, cheered out by their house mates, and made their way all the way down to the Quidditch pitch where they slipped into the Gryffindor changing room and started to get themselves suited up for the match. Harry, getting changed next to Ron, threw him a sideways look.

"How're you?" It was easy to forget that this was only Ron's second game. He shrugged.

"Alright, I guess," he replied. "I'm not the newbie here. Plus I've got Machoke, what could go wrong?" Even as he said this he glanced over to where Kirke sat on his bench, already changed and staring blankly at his feet. He looked as though he was going to be sick.

"You think he'll manage?" Ron asked an undertone, looking back at Harry. "I wouldn't be surprised if he keeled over before we even get out. Do you reckon he's up for it?" Harry doubted it.

"Doesn't matter," he said, in lieu of answering. "He's what we've got and he will be until the game is over. All we have to do is make sure we win."

"Which pretty much comes down to you," Ron told him. "No pressure."

Five minutes later they were ready and with a short, to the point, speech Angelina led them out into the sunlight of the Quidditch pitch. It was late February now and though still cold much easier to handle than the dark days of January.

The Hufflepuffs were already out waiting for them, dressed in their traditional yellow and black. They were an unassuming lot, as most of Hufflepuff house generally were, and their more reserved nature and sense of fair play meant there was often very little heat to their games. In all honesty Harry found the prospect of playing them rather dull.

That hadn't been the case two years ago. On that horrible stormy day in early November of his third year, a day he would remember vividly for the terrible injury suffered by his then Fletchinder, Harry had faced off against a Hufflepuff team with drive and focus and undeniable talent in their Seeker and Captain Cedric Diggory.

A timid second year stood in his place today, the boy not anywhere near as imposing a prospect to face, and Harry felt a sense of despair at the thought that there were probably few who had wanted the vacant Seeker position. Cedric had brought such pride to Hufflepuff House, few would dare try and take his place.

As Madam Hooch instructed them to their positions and to release their Pokémon Harry followed almost mechanically. The whole situation felt somewhat surreal, the sights and the sounds not quite reaching him as though his head were submerged in a pool of water. Even the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle blowing seemed dulled.

"And we're off!" Lee Jordan's voice warbled as though through a poorly tuned radio. "Now we've got some changes going on here, Gryffindor of course forced to switch out their usual beaters due to… well, better keep quiet on that." Harry could hear the derision in Lee's tone. "But don't worry we're keeping up our Weasley quota and we've also got, eh… Kirke?" There was a pause. Harry imagined Lee was looking to McGonagall for confirmation.

"Yeah, Kirke," he said after a moment, far more confident. "Other than that it's the same old Gryffindor team we've been so used to seeing, the trio of Chasers - Angelina, Alicia and Katie - the new star Keeper Ron Weasley, and of course star Seeker Harry Potter." A small cheer went up in the stands, with the Slytherins responding with some boos.

"And we have a change in the Hufflepuff team, too," Lee announced. "Wesley has been pulled after the match against Ravenclaw, poor bloke, and now we have second year Billy Root as Seeker. I'm afraid that Pidgey will have a hard time against Talonflame."

Harry's head jerked up. Sure enough across the field fluttered a Pidgey, so tiny Harry had to squint against the sunlight to see it, but it was there. It kept its place, determined before young Billy Root.

Harry felt sick. He turned away, looking down at the grass below for comfort and using a hand to steady himself against the skeleton of the balloon. Breath in, breath out. Breath in, breath out…

The game down below was not going well.

"Lopunny, to Hitmontop," Lee was saying, his voice already beginning to lose some of its lustre. "Back to Lopunny who makes a move… nope, forced back. I tell you, this Hufflepuff defence sure is organised. I can't believe we haven't had a shot yet."

To the casual viewer this wasn't particularly fun to watch. To Harry, a seasoned veteran, he could appreciate just what Hufflepuff were doing. Gryffindor were known for their Chasers, the three Pokémon a seamless team, fast and deadly. Hufflepuff were working as hard as they could to stop them. Each of the three Chasers were doing their all to stay between the attackers and the goal posts and their Beaters were doing the same. Time and time again the three Gryffindor Chasers were forced to turn back, not losing possession of the Quaffle but not doing anything with it either.

It was already telling the difference Fred and George made.

"And Hitmonlee with some trickery, Hypno doing well to stay in front. No way through there- What is this?! Haunter with Confuse Ray! Opening here for Gryffindor, Hitmonlee to Lopunny, great turn, Lopunny back to Hitmonlee, he's going to shoot!" The whole stadium held their breath.

"Goal! Ten zero to Gryffindor!" Lee yelled, ecstatic. "Those Chasers can't be held back for long! Great work from new Beater Ginny and her tricky Haunter! Hufflepuff with possession for the first time in this match."

The game changed remarkably. With Hufflepuff on the attack everything was moving as Hufflepuff threw themselves forward, committing bodies as the Chasers attacked and the Beaters, Grumpig and Sableye, backed them up.

"In goes Hypno, blocked by Lopunny but Meditite is first to the loose Quaffle. They try and go around but Hitmonlee is there. Now Mr Mime, sends it to Hypno, blocked… well, not really blocked, it hits Gligar, not sure he knew much about that, but Gryffindor have the Quaffle! Hitmontop sends it forward and the Keeper comes! Lopunny's going to get there first! Lopunny does! Sets up Hitmonlee! Open goal! Twenty to zero Gryffindor!"

And in one possession Gryffindor were shown the flaws of Hufflepuff's system. They could set up and use their more experienced Beaters to hold Gryffindor at arms length but they needed to score in order to allow them to do so. When Gryffindor got the chance to run there was no stopping them.

No-one could say the Hufflepuffs were stupid. Their reaction to conceding that quick goal was immediate and the next time they came up the field they did so with much more composure. They were going to take their time and make sure that when they took their shot they were going to score.

It made for a very slow game.

"Meditite, sends it to Mr Mime. Hitmonlee had a pop there but Mr Mime controls and sends it to Hypno. Lopunny discouraged by Sableye and wait a moment! The Snitch!" Harry's eyes widened in shock, his body sluggish and his mind more so as he felt like he was moving through treacle as he looked up to where the Snitch floated into view.

Fortunately Talonflame was faster. Harry had barely reacted before a whoosh of air dispersing sounded next to him and Talonflame soared majestically forward. Harry was reduced to a spectator as he watched his Pokémon zero in on the Snitch ring, far and away outpacing the fiercely flapping Pidgey, taking hold of the ring and turning back to Harry.

In the end it was really no contest.

"Talonflame gets the Snitch! Gryffindor win! Final score one hundred and eighty to twenty!" Lee Jordan shouted and the stadium erupted in applause. Harry didn't feel any of it. He was barely conscious of Talonflame alighting next to him, or his hand pulling on the lever to lower them to the ground. His focus, all that he had left in him, was left watching the disappointed Pidgey across the pitch. Winning didn't feel quite as brilliant as usual.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry I've been away for so long. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I'll be updating regularly again so expect the next chapter up soon. See you then.


	28. Trelawney's Plight

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

It didn't matter that the game was far from a classic. It didn't matter that the score was low and Gryffindor's Beaters had barely got into the game. Gryffindor had won and that was something to celebrate, and this year more than any they needed that. The Gryffindor Common room was boisterous, loud, and full of mirth, laughter and song.

It was about the last place Harry wanted to be right this moment. He did not feel like celebrating, did not want to hear the praise of his house mates or feel the slaps on his back or the flirtatious touches on his arm. He felt numb and that separated him from all those around him until he could take it no more and made that separation physical. He took his chance when Fred and George became the centre of attention and slipped out into the empty castle outside.

There was never much going on in Hogwarts after a game. Most students, those of the two houses not playing, often took the time to relax after the day's earlier excitement with some going so far as to use the quiet time to study. The team that had lost would naturally not be up to much and the team that won would restrict their exuberance to their own common room.

Yet Harry wasn't really alone. You never were these days. The cameras set up all around the school monitored his progress through the castle, silent and unmoving but for the small blinking light that indicated they were active. Harry didn't know how the Ministry treated the footage retrieved from the cameras. Was there someone watching him now?

Either way he would never be comfortable while he had a camera trained on him and so he wasn't going to hang about. He could go to the Hospital Wing, Talonflame spending the night there as a precaution and the rapidly growing Eevee always a treat, but Harry didn't really want company. Instead he headed outside.

The air was crisp and fresh, the grass somewhat damp under foot with melted frost. As he'd expected there was no one outside to enjoy the mild weather and that was just fine by Harry. He shifted his hands into his pockets for warmth and ducked his head as he walked along the line of trees that marked the edge of the forest, lost in thought.

Inevitably his trip would take him to Hagrid's cabin, it seemed to be the place Harry gravitated to when he needed time to think, but he was still surprised to come across it so soon. He hesitated, wondering whether he really wanted to talk to Hagrid or not. He was confident Hagrid would make him feel better but he wondered if he'd not prefer the solitude to dwell on his thoughts a bit longer.

The decision was taken out of his hands as the door opened and Harry, standing torn in clear view of Hagrid's front door, was brought face to face with the gamekeeper.

"Why, 'ello Harry," Hagrid said, looking rather surprised. "What are yeh doin' out here?" From behind Hagrid Fang the Mightyena made an appearance, bounding forward when he saw Harry, followed at a slower pace by Norbert the Shelgon.

"Just wanted some fresh air," Harry told Hagrid with a shrug. He knelt down to pet Fang and Norbert, the two Pokémon nuzzling up to him affectionately.

Hagrid let out a thoughtful noise. "I'd 'ave thought you'd be up in the common room celebratin'," he said. "That was a good game." Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Alright, maybe not a good game but yeh won. Just one more game for the title."

"Yeah," Harry said, without enthusiasm. He just found it hard to find it in himself to care.

"Hmm," Hagrid said, looking thoughtful. Harry could only imagine his suspicions. "Well, now yeh're here why don't yeh help me in the forest. I've got some berries to pick up an' it's quite hard ter find 'em this time o' year."

Harry agreed without comment.

The two of them, accompanied by Fang and Norbert as well as Pikachu, who Harry let out to stretch his legs a bit, walked through the trees until eventually they could no longer see the castle behind them.

"Pikachu's lookin' well," Hagrid commented after a while, watching as the small electric type sniffed at a few shoots growing through the forest floor. "It's hard ter imagine that he's the same as that tiny little thing yeh found after my class."

Harry nodded. Pikachu, although still young, had grown a lot in the year and a half since they had met, filling out to a healthy weight and growing in skill and maturity all the time. That was especially true in the last few weeks as Pikachu took up a role similar to that of an older brother to Eevee.

"It's amazin' the way things have changed," Hagrid said, drawing Harry's attention. "I still remember when we first met. Yeh were a tiny little thing, Harry. I wouldn't have guessed you were old enough fer Hogwarts had yeh not looked so much like yer father. An' now look at yeh. Yeh've really grown up."

Harry nodded absently, looking away from Hagrid and into the forest ahead. It certainly felt like a long time since he'd been introduced to the Pokémon world, so much had changed. What had once been a world of discovery and adventure had turned sour. He barely recognised it anymore.

"What's up, Harry?" Hagrid said as Harry continued to keep quiet. "I know something's botherin' yeh. Tell me, maybe I can help." Harry considered him.

"I just feel so…" Harry sighed. "Helpless," he admitted softly.

"Helpless?" Hagrid questioned. Harry nodded.

"There's a whole war going on out there and we're stuck here, fighting Umbridge of all people," Harry complained. "She's horrible and it's a fight worth fighting but it won't do anything against Voldemort." Hagrid shuddered.

"Please don't say his name, Harry," Hagrid pleaded. Harry just turned away.

"I'm sorry if I sound like I'm giving up but I just can't get it out of my head," Harry told him. "When I saw that Seeker using a Pidgey all I could think about was Cedric, what had happened to him. I promised I would avenge him but all I seem to be doing is trying to stay out of trouble and letting Umbridge do whatever she wants."

"Now don't say that," Hagrid told him. "You are doing stuff, Harry, great stuff."

"Like what?"

"Well there's that little group of yours yeh've got goin' on," Hagrid told him. "Yeh're preparing yer class mates to defend themselves, that's worthwhile. An' I bet yeh that's what Cedric would've wanted. Those were his friends and yeh're helpin' them. Think of all those Hufflepuffs yer helping teach. Think o' Ms Chang." Hagrid sighed.

"Yeh're doin' more than yeh realise, Harry," Hagrid told him. "Yeh're bringing them hope. Without you these kids won't have anything to turn to."

"They have Dumbledore," Harry protested. "As long as he's here…"

"But he might not always be here, Harry," Hagrid said earnestly. He looked uncomfortable. "I wasn't really planning on tellin' yeh this but I think it might be best."

"What?" Harry asked. Hagrid hesitated.

"I think I might have ter leave soon," he admitted, bowing his head. Fang whined.

"Hagrid," Harry said, alarmed. "Hagrid, what're you talking about?"

"Umbridge is what I'm talkin' about, Harry," Hagrid told him. "An' the Ministry ter boot. I reckon they're gearin' up ter sack me."

"What?" Harry gasped, horrified.

"Umbridge has been comin' ter more an' more of me classes," Hagrid told him. "There's only one reason fer that."

"But Hagrid, she can't," Harry told him. "You can't leave."

"Not really up ter me, though, is it," Hagrid said. "But yeh see, Harry. Yeh're doin' so much good than yeh realise and those students need yeh. If I go an' Umbridge goes after the other teachers they're going ter need you ter look after them." Hagrid sniffed.

"Ah, here we are," he said, noticing the trees before them hanging with green berries. "Good thing we found 'em. Looks like it's going ter get dark soon." Within the deepest parts of the forest it was always darker than normal but even so Harry could sense through the cold chill in the air, penetrating through his thick Quidditch jumper, that it was getting late.

Together he and Hagrid, with the help of Pikachu, Fang and Norbert, picked a few of the berries before Hagrid declared he had enough.

"That'll do fer just now," he said, looking into the large sack he'd brought to carry them. "It'll get us by until they're more plentiful, at least. Come on you lot, time ter go." Norbert responded, walking immediately to Hagrid's side, but Fang had found something else to distract him, following his nose across the forest floor, and Pikachu walked over to join him, looking curious.

"Fang, come on," Hagrid said again but Fang didn't respond. He stuck his nose into the bushes, following some sort of trail, and Pikachu wandered curiously after him, prompting Harry and Hagrid to follow as the two Pokémon started to disappear from view.

"Pikachu?" Harry questioned, following his young electric type through the bushes. Pikachu, unlike Fang, acknowledged his presence but didn't seem any less keen to follow the Mightyena as he plowed a path through the bushes.

"Guess he musta found somethin'," Hagrid commented, looking as surprised as Harry. Fang and Pikachu, again taking the lead, briefly disappeared through the thick low hanging branches of a pair of adjacent trees. Once on the other side they seemed to stop, the rustle of movement falling still.

"Pika!" Pikachu called back to them. Harry and Hagrid shared a look. He didn't seem in trouble.

Harry was the one to take the lead, being the smaller of the two he found his path less challenging, and he arrived through the branches to find himself by Pikachu's side.

"What is it?" He asked, but then he saw. His mouth fell open. "No," he breathed.

A small rumble sounded behind him and Hagrid broke through the trees, coming to a stop behind Harry and gasping. "It can't be."

* * *

Harry didn't tell Ron and Hermione what he saw in the forest, though he often thought he should. On the surface there was no reason not to tell them, it wouldn't cause them danger or trouble of any sort if they knew. But it could hurt and bring up a lot of old wounds that had only just started to heal over.

Usually Harry would struggle to keep a secret from Ron and Hermione, they just knew him too well not to notice when something was up, but as it happened they were distracted by a much more pressing matter. Exams.

The APEs, or Average Pokémon Examinations, were due to take place in June and, as February slipped into March, the dreaded day they'd have to sit in the Great Hall and try and muddle their way to a good grade was coming ever closer.

"I think we've done enough studying for Physiology for now," Hermione said smartly, closing her textbook and looking up to Harry and Ron sitting across from her. "Why don't we do some Potions?" On the surface this seemed reasonable, but with Hermione's revision timetable at hand Harry knew the transition was anything but casual.

Ron groaned.

"Can't we take a break?" He asked desperately. "We've been at this for hours. It's still ages until the exams." He was right, they'd visited the library for their entire lunch period and had been there currently since their last class of the day had concluded. Hermione scowled.

"Not ages," she scolded. "Three months. Three months can go by very fast you know. One moment you think you have plenty of time, the next…" But Harry was on Ron's side.

"We can't keep going like this," he told her. "We'll wear ourselves out. We need some down time once in a while." Hermione huffed.

"Fine," she bit out, aggressively packing up her books. "But you'll be sorry you weren't more prepared when it comes to the exams. These are very important."

"We'll study again tomorrow," Harry assured her, although by Ron's groan he figured he wasn't speaking for the both of them. "But you can't keep going like this. It's almost time for dinner, anyway. Lets just go down and relax a bit." Hermione looked uncertain.

"Count me in," Ron said, cheerfully stuffing his books back into his bag. "I'm starving, I wonder what's for dinner." And Hermione, despite her obvious reluctance, gave in.

"As long as we do revise again tomorrow," she said anxiously. "You know how important these exams are. I heard from Percy that these are even more important than the SPAs."

"Yeah, well, what does Percy know?" Ron asked uncaringly. "You know how he likes to make things seem important like that. Makes him feel special that he's done it and we're just fighting to get through. Bloody prick."

"You shouldn't talk about your brother like that," Hermione told him sharply. "Especially considering what he's doing for the Legion."

"Who cares about the Legion," Ron countered. "Just because you're on the right side doesn't mean you can't be a prick, isn't that right, Harry… Harry?" But Harry was no longer with them. As they were walking down to the Great Hall a flash of blonde hair had caught his eye and he began walking briskly in the opposite direction. There was a very important conversation he just needed to have.

His journey through the castle had him retracing his steps, his target obviously heading to the very place Harry had just vacated. Hurrying through the halls at a brisk pace, just keeping the girl in his sights every time she turned a corner, he followed her into the library. He saw her heading up and to the right, slipping into an aisle of potions books, and he hurried after her, only to turn the corner and come face to face with Daphne Greengrass, Gardevoir at her side.

Harry didn't even have time to react, surprised that Daphne had realised he had been following her, before the two of them were removed from the library and teleported to an abandoned classroom.

That's when Daphne spoke.

"Just what do you think you are doing, Potter?" She snapped. Her voice wasn't loud but it was biting and she looked more enraged than he'd ever seen. "Do you not realise the dangers if someone realised we were talking?" Harry recovered.

"Hard for people to realise that when we're not actually talking," he bit back, a surprising amount of bitterness in his tone. "I thought we were supposed to be working together."

"We are, I send Gardevoir all the time, like I promised," Daphne told him.

"You know what I mean," Harry challenged. "You're avoiding me. Ever since the Hospital Wing…"

"Don't say it," Daphne snapped.

"Ever since then you haven't spoken a single word to me," Harry continued. "I've seen you plenty. You do as you said you would, you're in my dorm every time there's a DA meeting, but you haven't spoken a single word to me since that night."

"So what?" Daphne snapped. "Nothing in our agreement required me to talk to you."

"You don't think that we should?" Harry questioned. "After what happened?"

"What happened was a mistake," Daphne told him.

"Then you should have at least spoken to me to let me know," Harry countered.

"I thought you'd manage from context," Daphne hissed back. "Though I realise now that I give too much credit to a Gryffindor. I suppose I should lower my standards."

"Lower whatever you want, I don't care," Harry argued. "I just wanted the chance to talk about what happened."

"Nothing happened," Daphne denied.

"Then why are you avoiding me?" Harry challenged. "If nothing happened like you said then why have you not spoken a single word to me but Seamus hears from you every single time you come over. Something happened, or is there something else I'm missing?" Daphne scowled.

"Listen, Potter, and listen good," she said, her body practically shaking with anger. "I don't like you. I loath and despise everything about you. I'm helping you for one reason and one reason only and that is to keep my family safe. If I had known what would have happened I might not have bothered. How can you keep my family safe? You can't even look after yourself."

Harry had been arguing with the aim of convincing Daphne, trying to get her to see reason and to try and understand just why she'd reacted so badly. Now he was angry. His blood pounded through his veins and his fists clenched and shook.

"Oh yeah," Harry challenged, his voice shaking dangerously. "You don't like me, huh? Hate me, even? But you're still helping. Why would you do that, Greengrass, if you didn't think we were doing something here? Why would you help us if you don't even care? I don't want to hear excuses like it's 'for your family' or anything like that, Voldemort could keep them safe. Voldemort could ensure your family were never harmed if you just allowed him to brand you as his slave. You're full of shit, Greengrass. I never thought much of Slytherin but even by those standards you're pathetic."

A door opened, Daphne's response cut off, and they both turned. Colin Creevey stood there, eyes wide as he took in the scene, frozen in shock. A moment later Daphne was gone.

Harry let out a breath, the anger that had filled him starting to ebb away as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "What do you want, Colin?" He asked.

Colin looked nervous, glancing frequently back to the point Daphne had disappeared, evidently putting two and two together.

"I heard your voice," he told him, his own voice small. He looked almost scared. "I was just walking past and I heard you shouting about something."

"It was nothing," Harry denied. It was pointless, Colin was never going to believe that. "Why did you want to see me?" Colin's eyes widened again.

"Quick, you've got to come with me," he said frantically and Harry grew alarmed. "Something's happening. The whole school is gathering in the Entrance Hall, something to do with Professor Trelawney."

Harry hurried forward, nearly pushing Colin out of the way before stopping himself short. He turned back.

"Don't tell anyone about what you just saw," Harry said, his voice as serious as he could make it. If there was one thing Daphne had been right about it was that her family would be in danger if it became known she was fraternising with Harry Potter. "Promise me, Colin."

"I promise," Colin said immediately. Harry gave a nod, grateful, and then rushed off.

The classroom he'd been transported to was on the second floor, thankfully not far at all from the Entrance Hall to which Harry immediately rushed off to. As Colin had warned the entire school seemed to be there. Harry came to a halt on the marble steps, the crowd not letting him continue any further, and looked down on the scene below.

Professor Trelawney was sitting there, sobbing uncontrollably as she rested upon her trunk. She was alone in the crowded Entrance Hall, a ring of students giving her a wide berth, marshalled by the members of the Inquisitorial Squad, the shiny silver 'I's glinting in the light. The only person standing inside the circle was Professor Umbridge, her feet on the second from bottom step of the marble staircase as she looked down on Trelawney with a wholly unpleasant look on her face.

"Now, now, dear, lets not cause a scene," she tutted, her wide mouth turned in a gleeful smile. "It is not becoming of a woman of your age to be crying in such a public place."

"Please," Professor Trelawney gasped and Harry's stomach dropped at hearing her voice. It was no longer the mystical tone she used for classes or the harsher tone she fell to when annoyed. This was desperate. "Please, don't fire me. Hogwarts is my home. Without it…"

"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do," Umbridge told her with false sorrow. "It is my duty to maintain standards of education within this fine institution and teachers not up to scratch…" she tailed off, tilting her head down at the poor woman at her feet. "I'm afraid if you do not leave on your own then it shall be down to the aurors to escort you from the grounds. Please, Sybil, hold on to what little dignity you have left. You will be remembered well for your time at Hogwarts, but all things must come to an end."

Trelawney continued to sob, not moving and not looking like she even had the ability to do so if she were to try. No one tried to help her. From the doors to the Great Hall Harry could see the familiar flaming red and bushy brown hair of Ron and Hermione, Ron looking furious with his fists clenched, Hermione in tears.

A presence at Harry's shoulder caught his attention.

"What's going on here?" Albus Dumbledore stood just a few steps above him, his presence powerful and his expression stony. Right beside him Professor McGonagall was hurrying forward and continued on, the students parting to let her through, even the Inquisitorial Squad, as she hurried to Trelawney's side.

"There, there, Sybil," she said, comforting the other woman who sobbed into her shoulder. "It'll be alright."

"Well?" Dumbledore spoke again, his voice echoing throughout the hall. "Will anyone explain what we are all doing here?" Though his eyes scanned the whole room they easily focused in on Umbridge the moment she cleared her throat and he stared down from on high as the plump pink trainer straightened to her full height.

"As High Inquisitor of Hogwarts I have taken due diligence in my evaluations of my fellow professors and it has become clear that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch, as detailed in Education Decree Number Twenty-Three," Umbridge announced, head held high. "As such Professor Trelawney is being expelled from the grounds, her contract with Hogwarts School of Pokémon Training terminated." Trelawney wailed.

"I see," Dumbledore said softly, though his eyes were steely. "In that case I would kindly ask you to stand down and allow Professor Trelawney to return to her quarters." Umbridge blinked.

"I beg your pardon," she said, before letting out a girly laugh. "I think you may have misheard me, Professor Dumbledore, as I said, Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three…"

"Allows you to examine your fellow teachers and if necessary make changes," Dumbledore finished for her. "However, perhaps in an oversight on the part of the Ministry, nowhere does it state that Professor Trelawney must leave the school. She may not be able to teach but Professor Trelawney will always have a home here at Hogwarts."

Professor Umbridge's face went an alarming shade of puce. "Any adult not employed by Hogwarts cannot stay…"

"Unless invited by the Headmaster," Dumbledore intervened again. "Which, at least for the moment, is I. Now, Sybil, won't you do me the honour of being my guest here at Hogwarts? We have some rooms I think you'll like." Professor Trelawney looked awestruck. Umbridge, less so.

"And what of the teacher assigned to fill Professor Trelawney's position," she snapped. "They will need living quarters and a classroom and office."

"I'm sure we'll find some to spare," Dumbledore said with a benign smile. "After all, this is a big castle. Now, why don't we all head into the Great Hall and enjoy an excellent meal. Minerva, perhaps you would be so kind as to help Professor Trelawney move her belongings back to her quarters."

"Of course, Albus," said Professor McGonagall and she coaxed her colleague to her feet.

Umbridge looked furious.

"This won't be the end, Dumbledore," she hissed as he descended the stairs.

"No," Dumbledore agreed. "I don't believe it will." And he walked past her.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello, everyone. Thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

When going through this chapter I realised that the abbreviation for the Average Pokemon Evaluations was being change to simply A.. I have no idea why the editor does this but I've changed the formatting of the abbreviation to APE (removing the periods between the letters), which appears to work, and will be using that going forward. The same holds true for the SPAs.

On a different note I have a new feature that I'd like to start. Normally I don't really say much at the end of chapters (especially if there haven't been any questions to address from the reviews), and this is mostly because I generally can't think of anything meaningful. I would like to engage with you readers more though so I've decided to start a little thing at the end of chapters to try to do that.

My idea is to ask questions of you with each chapter, in a 'question of the day' type format. These will be pretty general to the Pokémon and Harry Potter universes and will just be for me to hear from you about what you are thinking and for me to share my own thoughts and experiences. Hopefully this will work out and I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

The first question will be:

What is your favourite Pokémon?

For me this is a little difficult as I've got several that I absolutely love, but I'd have to go with Torterra. I played Pokémon when I was really young but forgot about it for awhile and when I came back it was at the release of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. I got Diamond version and chose Turtwig as my starter. I remember I had so much fun with him, especially when he evolved into Torterra and was able to just Earthquake pretty much everything. I still remember giving him a Quick Claw and having it activate against Cynthia on the last turn to beat her for the first time. There may be cooler designed Pokémon and Pokémon with better stats but Torterra will always be special to me.

So, what is your favourite Pokémon? Do you have a story behind why? Please let me know in the reviews and I'll put up another question with the next upload.


	29. Careers Advice

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The school was abuzz for days after the confrontation between Dumbledore and Umbridge. For most of them, particularly those that Harry could listen to, they were excited by Dumbledore's putdown of the High Inquisitor, feeling it was about time that someone put her in her place.

Unfortunately their glee was short lived as a few days later the Ministry announced the appointment of a new Fortune Telling teacher. She was middle-aged, strict, and incredibly dull, turning Fortune Telling into an only slight less boring version of History of Pokémon.

It wasn't all bad, at least for Harry. Fortune Telling had never been one of his better subjects and while Professor Trelawney's classes were in general more relaxed there really wasn't too much of a drop in quality with the new professor. Also Dumbledore had set up Professor Little on the fifth floor, much more accessible to the students than Trelawney's tower.

The real problem for Harry, as Hermione was quick to point out, was how Umbridge was going to react to being one upped by Dumbledore. Past experience said it was doubtful that Umbridge would just let it go and every day Harry went down to breakfast expecting to read of a new Educational Decree being passed. So far there had been nothing, but it was only a matter of time.

In the meantime things seemed to go back to normal. Classes went on as usual, even with Fortune Telling the students fell into a routine, and the students continued to eat, sleep, study, practice Quidditch and, in the case of the DA, battle.

In fact, the only thing of note before the school broke up for Easter, though Harry doubted anyone in fifth year was going to be going home for the holiday, was the announcement of special one on one sessions for fifth year students with their heads of house to discuss career options.

Harry didn't quite see the point.

"It's not as though I've got job prospects," he told Hermione as she tried to hammer in how important these sessions could be. "With Voldemort out there I'm hardly going to be able to go and work nine to five in an office somewhere."

"Yes, but this isn't about now," Hermione told him insistently. "It's about after."

After. Harry wasn't entirely sure about that. Was it really a good idea to be thinking of after Voldemort? They were no nearer to him being defeated now than when he'd first returned. If anything they were worse off. The Ministry was doing everything in their power to weaken Dumbledore and were pouring resources into capturing an innocent man while dozens of guilty ones remained at large.

Harry wished he could see some light at the end of the tunnel but he just couldn't. Hermione couldn't either but she was a planner, she simply could not ignore her future even if there was no way it could ever come about. Ron was an optimist. It almost seemed like he expected Voldemort to be defeated before the year was out. Harry only wished he could share the sentiment.

Even so there wasn't anything to lose from talking to Professor McGonagall and, as the sessions were mandatory, Harry soon found himself knocking on her office door at his allotted time and being invited inside.

"Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall greeted him. "Take a seat." Harry did so. They sat in silence.

"Well, I suppose you know why you are here," McGonagall told him. "You are about to sit your APEs, and as important as they are in determining your future it is also worth thinking about what you want your future to be. Next year you will be required to drop three subjects."

"Potions," Harry said easily, without missing a beat. "And History and Fortune Telling." Professor McGonagall gave him a hard look.

"What I was about to say is that you should choose wisely and take your time to think it over," she said, a small reprimand in her voice. "Certain careers require certain subjects to be studied at Hogwarts. For example, anything medical would require at least Herbology, Potions and Pokémon Physiology."

"I don't think I'm interested in being a Healer," Harry said. McGonagall fixed him with a firm look.

"And what are you interested in?" Harry shrugged. Nothing was the answer but he didn't feel he could tell McGonagall that. He couldn't admit to how pointless he felt this whole process was for him. After all, the odds were big he wouldn't survive to start his post-Hogwarts career anyway.

McGonagall sighed. Harry couldn't be sure but he thought that perhaps she knew what he was thinking.

"I know things might seem difficult, Potter," she said, her voice heavy. "But there is no reason to act as though we do not have a future. It is our future, our aims and our goals that drive us to do what we have to. We are not born with our future written."

"I have goals," Harry said quietly. "I want to stay alive. I want to protect my friends and help stop Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I just don't see how any of that translates to a career."

"I understand, Potter, but sometimes you've got to look past the obvious," McGonagall told him. "After all, the attributes you have demonstrated are important to you remind me very much of certain aurors I have known in my time. The desire to protect people, to fight evil, is something fundamental to anyone who wishes a job like that."

"In the Ministry," Harry pointed out. McGonagall frowned.

"The Ministry will not always be like it is now, Potter," she told him. "Minister Fudge has only so much time left. Eventually he'll be replaced and you could find yourself highly sought after."

"I wouldn't want to work for someone who wants me just because I'm Harry Potter," Harry told her. Honestly, he hated the idea.

"Perhaps," Professor McGonagall agreed. "But there is a difference between Harry Potter, the boy of legend, and Harry Potter, the boy sitting before me. And I know which I'd rather have in my employ." Harry blinked. Was she complimenting him?

"You are in extraordinary boy, Harry," McGonagall told him and Harry felt himself straighten slightly in his chair. "You are strong, you are smart, you are compassionate and you are, more than anything, a leader. You have a lot of talent at your fingertips, and a lot of people would give an arm and a leg to get just a spark of what makes you tick. Don't waste it. You are far more than what anyone who thinks of what happened fourteen years ago claims to understand."

Harry didn't know what to say. He'd never heard Professor McGonagall talk like this. He'd been complimented before, by many people with varying degrees of honesty, but never had he felt so proud as to hear it from Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall, who so rarely gave praise. Professor McGonagall, who had watched over him for the last five years as he stumbled from one adventure to the next. Professor McGonagall, who had always had his back, even though he hadn't always realised it. He hated that he had to disappoint her.

"I don't think I'd be a good auror," he said. "I attract trouble. They wouldn't want that." McGonagall frowned.

"Here," she said and she pulled a leaflet out of a drawer and laid it before Harry. "Just in case you have second thoughts," she told him and Harry read the heading.

'So You Want To Be An Auror?'

"Keep your mind and your options open, Harry," she told him. "And if you ever want to talk, about this or anything else, my door is always open."

Harry left feeling more confused and conflicted than he had when he walked in. The pamphlet was held in his hand, the logo for the auror corps blazing out towards him, and he did his best to ignore it as he walked the empty corridors on that Friday afternoon. What McGonagall had said had touched him, he had never felt so confident in his own abilities as he did now he'd heard the praise come from her. But how could he think of his future when it was so heavily tied to Voldemort's?

He turned to a nearby window and looked out over the grounds.

"Hello, Harry."

Harry instantly jerked around, though his motion quickly calmed as he recognised the familiar airy voice floating down the corridor.

"Hi Luna," he responded, nodding towards her as he settled back into his position by the window. The blonde haired girl was alone, as she often was, somewhat of an outcast at Hogwarts, but to Harry she was a friend. Though he hadn't seen too much of her in their time together at school each encounter left him with something new to think about.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked. Classes were still in session, Harry was only allowed out so he could speak with Professor McGonagall.

"Oh, Professor Flitwick let us go early," Luna told him. "It's a pity, I really like his class. Now I will just have to wait until after the holidays." Typical Luna. Most people would be glad to be let out early. Luna was different.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Harry told her and he meant it to. Professor Flitwick's classes were often fun and it could be disappointing not seeing the excitable Head of Ravenclaw House. "Do you want to head down to the Great Hall? I know dinner won't be out yet but it won't be long."

"Oh, no, I'm going up to the tower," Luna told him. "I have to drop my books. But thanks for the offer." Harry frowned. Luna wasn't carrying any books.

"My classmates took them," she explained, looking perfectly at ease with the situation. "They do that sometimes. It shouldn't take too long to find them."

"Do you want a hand?" Harry asked politely. The idea of Luna wandering around on her own trying to recover her stolen possessions was hard to bare.

"Why, thank you, Harry," Luna smiled brightly. Then she tilted her head. "That might be a good idea. You can tell me what's bothering you." And she turned and walked off leaving Harry, shaking his head in bemusement, to follow after her.

"I heard you had careers advice," Luna said as they strolled down the corridor, casually allowing her eyes to survey the area around her. "Did it help?"

"Eh, no," Harry admitted. "I mean, I don't think so. Professor McGonagall has given me some stuff to think about."

"Like joining the aurors?" Luna asked. Again Harry was taken aback by her ability to know things she shouldn't but this time he remembered the pamphlet in his hand.

"Eh, yeah," Harry said. "That… and other things."

"I think you'd make a good auror," Luna said matter-of-factly. "You're really good with the DA."

"Thanks Luna," Harry smiled. "It's not really about being an auror though. It's more about… planning for a job, any job, in the future."

"You're worried you won't make it that far," Luna said. Harry nodded.

"I have a dangerous lunatic madman after me," he told her. "And I know I've got Dumbledore on my side and people like McGonagall too. But they can't do everything and now they are fighting against Umbridge and the Ministry."

"So are we," Luna pointed out.

"Yeah," Harry muttered. "But it's not really doing much."

"You are making us stronger."

"But strong enough to face Voldemort?" Harry challenged. Luna didn't shudder at the name like most people did. She did, however, lose some of her airy quality.

"We don't have to be strong enough for him," Luna told him simply. "We just need to be strong enough to hold him off until you're ready. You'll win, Harry. I know it." She smiled at him.

"Luna!" Ginny Weasley appeared at the other end of the hallway, looking somewhat annoyed and loaded with not one but two book bags.

"Hi Ginny," Luna said brightly, smiling as the red head hurried up to her. "Is that my bag?"

"I saw some of your classmates trying to hide it in the haunted bathroom on the second floor," Ginny told her, handing over the slightly wet bag. No wonder she'd looked annoyed.

"So that's where they went," Luna said thoughtfully, not looking concerned by the state of her possessions as she accepted them from Ginny. "Not very inventive. I assume they must have been pressed for time." Ginny looked as though she wanted to say something but held her tongue. Harry had the distinct impression this wasn't the first time this scene had played out.

Luna turned to face him.

"Seems as though we've found my books," she said with a smile. "Thank you, Harry. I enjoyed our conversation."

"Yeah, me too," Harry agreed, and he meant it. "And Luna," he said as Luna turned to follow Ginny down the corridor. "Thank you." Luna just smiled her usual, easy-going smile and walked away, leaving Harry with a lot to think about, but with a smile on his face.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

In response to the review about the cliffhanger in the middle of last chapter: I won't be writing the scene of Harry and Hagrid discovering whatever it is they discovered but I promise you will see whatever it is in later chapters and hopefully it will surprise you.

Also, following on from my notes from the previous chapter, I'm really happy to hear the replies I got to the question of the day. On the subject of who's your favourite Pokémon we had Scrafty, Charmander, Ninetales, Flygon, Eevee, and shiny Zoroark, all of which are really cool Pokémon, and with some good explanations as to why these Pokémon are important to you.

We also had one review that posed a good question, which is going to be the question of the day for this chapter.

The review is below:

 _DelugeLeader 666 : - To answer your question, my favourite Pok_ é _mon is Eevee. With all the choices you could evolve it into, you actually have a choice, unlike other Pok_ é _mon. But i got a question for you, mr/mrs/miss author, what is your favourite Eeveelution?_

So, my favourite Eevee evolution is Umbreon. I just love the black design with the golden rings. To be honest I love all the Eeveelutions, with Jolteon, Espeon and Glaceon also being among my favourite designs.

And to add to the question above I'd like to ask if there are any Eevee evolutions you dislike. If I had to choose it would be Vaporeon or Sylveon, but that would be me being hyper critical. I honestly like all the Eeveelutions so I suppose you could say for me Vaporeon/Sylveon are simply the worst of a very good bunch.

So what are your favourite Eevee evolutions? Are there some you dislike? Or even hate? Let me know in the reviews and I'll see you in the next chapter.


	30. Cho Chang

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Harry wasn't given a lot of time to contemplate McGonagall's advice or Luna's pearls of wisdom as the easter holiday began and with it opened the dam that was keeping Hermione's neuroticism at bay.

With two weeks with no classes Hermione had them working like crazy, in the library, in the common room, occasionally even in the Great Hall during meals. Hermione always got crazy during exam time, it was part of who she was that she just couldn't relax when the pressure was on, but this year she was going above and beyond anything they'd seen before.

What was in name a holiday became a torturous stretch where Harry and Ron fought tooth and nail for whatever free time they could, cherishing the few opportunities they had to escape to the Quidditch Pitch for practice as it was about the only time they could relax and not have to deal with Hermione's incessant muttering.

It didn't get much better once classes started again, though the classes themselves provided a bit more variety, which was a blessed relief, even if they weren't that much easier to deal with than Hermione.

And so it was a relief when, after managing to persuade Hermione to go for a walk to get some fresh air, she got distracted by something else.

"Espurr is incredibly powerful," she told them as she displayed her newly caught Pokémon at the start of the next DA meeting. "Obviously it doesn't look physically strong but it has really good special attack, at least once it evolves." Harry held out his Pokédex.

"Espurr, the Restraint Pokémon," it said. "The organ that emits its intense psychic power is sheltered by its ears to keep power from leaking out."

"I haven't been able to properly test out his capabilities," Hermione told them. "After all, Umbridge doesn't allow any battling and I'm so swamped with revision. I'd really like it if we could battle you, Harry."

"Eh, sure," said Harry. He'd been down to battle Fred and his Magmar but since Hermione was originally supposed to be using Buizel against George's Electabuzz it was easy to make a swap. He told Fred and George their new instructions, receiving matching grins in return, and turned back to face Hermione.

"Pikachu, lets go," he called, releasing the small electric type. Pikachu, whilst more than capable of dealing with Espurr, was not as strong as Charizard and not as valuable to Angelina as Talonflame. "Okay, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Espurr, Light Screen!" Pikachu's attack fizzled uselessly against the glowing yellow box that sprung up around Espurr.

"Iron Tail!" Pikachu charged forwards and swung his metallic tail at the tiny Pokémon.

"Reflect!"

'Dual screens', Harry thought as Pikachu, after trying his best to break through, was repelled by the Reflect. This was such a Hermione Pokémon.

"Use Confusion!" Espurr's round little eyes glowed and Pikachu, having taken a tumble when his last attack was repelled, was lifted into the air.

"Use Thunderbolt!" Harry instructed. Espurr wasn't experienced in battle and had made a mistake in not attacking while he could. Pikachu did not need to move to fire off his electric attack and even though the Light Screen took the brunt of the hit Espurr still lost his focus and Pikachu landed on all fours.

"Now Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!" Pikachu charged forwards, his body surrounded by sparking electricity, and crossed the short distance to slam into the Reflect barrier that stood between him and his target. Though halted in his path the Reflect was obviously not strong enough to hold him, cracking under the pressure and giving Espurr only a matter of moments before he was hit.

"Espurr, use Psybeam!" As Hermione finished her command the last resistance in the Reflect barrier fell, the Reflect crashing into pieces as Pikachu charged forwards. Espurr, standing directly in his path, lifted his ears.

A blast erupted, Pikachu being thrown backwards and Harry, along with everyone else in the clearing, doubling over to cover their ears as a high pitched shriek emanated from beneath Espurr's ears. It was terrible, Harry barely able to even think as he crouched down and tried to make himself as small as possible.

"Espurr! Stop!" Hermione's voice was just noticeable past the terrible noise and to Harry's relief the clearing fell silent. His ears ringing, Harry looked up to find Espurr standing innocently before him, ears back down to cover his attack.

"What was that?!" Dean's shout broke the silence and at once seemed to kick everyone back into motion.

"Sorry," said Hermione, looking guilty. "I'd never tried that before. I knew it was going to be loud but…"

For the rest of the session Hermione spent the time working one on one with Espurr to try and control the power that the tiny little Pokémon had on offer. Harry, meanwhile, free from his battling duties, wandered around, watching the battles with interest.

The members of the DA had certainly got stronger in the time they'd been practicing and it was noticeable in everyone. Even as he watched Harry saw Neville's Larvitar evolve into a Pupitar, giving his congratulations as he passed. It wasn't even an uncommon occurrence any more. They were just getting stronger every single day.

"Psst, Harry," Seamus muttered, drawing him over as he passed. Seamus was matched up with Dean today, his Hawlucha going punch for punch with the much larger Hariyama. It seemed like the two Pokémon were more invested in their test of strength against one another rather than winning the battle so while Dean turned his attention to his Glalie floating next to him Seamus spoke with Harry.

"I'm glad I caught you, I've been wanting to ask you something," he said, his voice quiet which piqued Harry's curiosity. What was so important Seamus didn't want people overhearing?

"What is it?" He asked, turning so he could face out towards the rest of the group, ensuring no one could overhear without him noticing.

"It's about Greengrass, eh, Daphne," Seamus muttered and Harry felt his heart sink. He hadn't spoken to Daphne since their disastrous encounter the day of Trelawney's firing. Her reaction to his presence had if anything got even worse than before.

"See, tell me to shove it if I'm getting in the middle of something, but I reckon something happened with you two, and… I don't know, I'm curious or something." Harry frowned.

"Why do you think something happened?" Harry asked, although admitting it was quite obvious to anyone who saw them together.

"Well, you know, she kind of avoids you," Seamus said uneasily. "Which is weird since you kind of run this whole thing and she's working for you. I just thought she'd talk to you or, you know, acknowledge your existence. I'm just curious. There's something up, right?"

Harry sighed. How to answer this without giving away things he was not ready to share with anyone yet, not least Seamus who, if possible, was even denser about people's feelings and emotions than Ron was.

"It's nothing," he said eventually. Seamus waited expectantly. "Daphne and I had, well, we had a disagreement. We're not friends, or even on speaking terms I don't think. We're just on the same side. I still think she's here to help us."

"Yeah, definitely," said Seamus. Harry raised an eyebrow. "Well, I mean, for a Slytherin she's not too bad. I reckon if she was going to turn us in she'd probably have done that already." Which made sense, and was part of the reasoning Harry had in his head for Daphne's continued support, but the way in which Seamus said it made him wonder if there wasn't something he was keeping to himself. Like Harry himself he wondered if Seamus wasn't being entirely honest with him.

"Harry!" Hermione made an appearance before him, dodging through the battling pairs with Espurr held in her arms. "Have you checked the time?" Harry looked at his watch.

"Alright, I think that's it for today," he said loudly and the various battles came to a stop. There was even a groan of disappointment. "Good work everyone, I'm really impressed by how far you've all come. Now, I know Gryffindor have Quidditch practice tomorrow and Ravenclaw on Thursday," he glanced over to Cho for confirmation. "So I say we all meet up again on Friday. Same time, same place. I'll see you all then."

At that Seamus stepped forward, Gardevoir floating in from the periphery and beginning the process of sending all the students back to their respective dormitories. As the area started to clear Ron and Hermione approached him.

"Everyone's looking really good," Hermione said positively.

"Yeah, especially Neville," Ron agreed. By his side stood Arcanine, baring a few scratches from battle. "Pupitar isn't even in his final evolution stage and he's already really strong. I can't wait to see what happens when he evolves into a Tyranitar."

"He'll be a force, that's for sure."

"Harry?"

Harry's attention was torn from his best friends at the sound of his name and he turned to find Cho Chang standing before him.

"Erm, hi," he said lamely. Cho just gave a small smile.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you," she said softly. "In private." Those last words were aimed over his shoulder at Hermione and Ron who had been listening in.

"Wait…," Ron said but Hermione hushed him, grabbing hold of his arm and pulling him away. Harry watched as the two of them reached Seamus, the only ones left other than Harry and Cho. Seamus listened to Hermione say something and then glanced over. Harry gave him a thumbs up and, after a quick nod, Seamus, Hermione and Ron disappeared.

"Good, I'm glad we're alone now," Cho said, sounding relieved. With the disappearance of Gardevoir the small fires that burned around the clearing had disappeared. But with this being the first days of May they still had some natural light, although little made it down to where they were standing such that Cho's features were still somewhat shadowed.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked uncertainly. She needed his help with something, obviously.

Cho frowned. "Nothing's wrong," she said, though she didn't sound totally convinced. "I just wanted to talk with you. About… you know."

"Oh," Harry said softly. He should have seen this coming. After all, he was the last person who had seen Cedric alive and now he looked back he realised this wasn't the first time Cho had tried to get him alone to talk.

Cho's head was ducked slightly, her hair obscuring her features, and Harry was taken aback when she let out a sniff. A single tear trickled down her cheek.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just, find it difficult to talk about him. Even now."

"It's okay," Harry assured her. "I know. It is tough for me too. And I didn't know him as well as you did." He barely knew him at all, in truth. If it hadn't been for the Tri-Pokémon Tournament Cho would have had no reason to come to him over anyone else.

"He always liked you," Cho admitted and Harry felt his heart constrict. "He always thought you were a really decent guy."

"Well, I'm nothing compared to him," Harry said awkwardly. How do you react to getting praised by a dead man?

"Don't put yourself down," Cho told him and he was surprised when she moved closer. "He'd have been happy with what you were doing, helping us learn to defend ourselves." Her head dropped. "I only wish you'd had a chance to teach him." Harry's eyes widened.

"No," he said immediately. "No, Cedric was strong. Stronger than me."

"But you escaped," Cho pointed out. "And Cedric…" she couldn't finish her sentence.

"That… that wasn't anything to do with skill," Harry told her. He needed her to understand this. "I would have been in Cedric's place if Voldemort had wanted him instead of me." Cho flinched as he said the name and Harry inwardly cursed himself for not having more tact.

"He was good, Cho," Harry said, trying to put as much genuine honesty into his voice as possible. "He was strong, he was chosen as champion and he beat Fleur and Krum. He was a good man, Cho. I know you know this."

Cho's face was literally inches from his and for once her tears had stopped. Her eyes glistened as she stared unblinkingly up at Harry and Harry met her stare with purpose and without hesitation, trying with all his might to show her that he was telling the truth.

He couldn't have prepared himself for what came next. Even with many hours thought he'd never come up with an appropriate way to handle it. As Harry tried his hardest to show Cho his honesty she saw something else, and she leaned in and kissed him.

Harry jerked back, shocked, and it took him a moment to realise just how badly he had screwed up. Cho, standing in the exact spot where she had just moments ago kissed him, looked horrified.

"Cho," Harry said quickly, stepping forward. "I'm sorry, Cho… Cho!" But Cho Chang wouldn't listen. She had turned away from him, tears streaming down her cheeks the last thing Harry glimpsed as she rushed off towards the trees.

"Cho!" Harry called after her, some part of him realising that she could get into a lot of trouble running off into the trees in such a state with no idea of where she was. Those worries were answered, however, as Gardevoir appeared almost by magic in the crying girl's path and a moment later the two of them were gone.

A sarcastic clap echoed around the clearing. Harry turned, his emotions pulled in all directions, to see Daphne Greengrass step out from the trees. She had her hands held at shoulder height and gave one last, obvious, clap before fixing Harry with a sardonic look.

"Congratulations, Potter," she said, her voice easily carrying the distance between them. "You have successfully screwed up worse than you managed with me. You continue to amaze."

Harry stepped forward.

"I thought you were denying what happened between us," Harry challenged, choosing to fight this fight rather than think over what had happened with Cho. "What changed?" Daphne shrugged.

"I had a think about it," she said. "As awful as the experience was I can't blame a Gryffindor for acting impulsively. It's like blaming a Goldeen for swimming."

"How generous," Harry responded dryly. "And what exactly were you doing here? I know you haven't been to all our meetings, don't even try and pretend." Despite herself Daphne looked impressed.

"I wanted to see what was going on," Daphne told him. "What my efforts were going to."

"And?" Harry asked.

"I'm impressed," admitted Daphne. "You've even managed to get airheads like Brown and Patil battling semi-competently." That was about as much of a compliment as she was ever going to give.

"You could join, if you want," Harry said, although immediately he knew the answer.

"Not a chance in hell, Potter," Daphne countered, smirking slightly that he'd even asked. "You know someone will let slip I was here."

"Colin hasn't said anything," Harry pointed out.

"Creevey worships you and the ground you walk on," Daphne countered. "As sycophantic as his behaviour is it does come in useful at times." It seemed to be a uniquely Slytherin trait the ability to both compliment and insult in the same sentence. Harry shook his head.

"So what now?" He asked, fixing Daphne with a look. "You've come to watch, now you have. Just why did you bother, anyway? Last time we spoke you said you didn't even care. I remember the words quite distinctly." Daphne hesitated. That in itself caught Harry's interest.

"My reasons are my own," she said stiffly. Harry's eyebrows raised.

"You have reasons?" Harry asked. He'd assumed she had been lying. "Wait, if you weren't here to see what was going on and you don't care about me then… what do you care about?"

There was no denying it, Daphne looked extremely uncomfortable and it took a moment for Harry to see it for what it was as Daphne Greengrass never looked uncomfortable. She was always calm, composed and in control. What possibly could have changed? Well, there was only one thing Harry knew of that could do it.

"It's a boy," Harry said and Daphne jumped, looking alarmed. That was all Harry needed to know he was right. "You like someone, someone in the DA." He scratched his chin, thinking. "And it must be someone you can't be seen with in public, so either a Gryffindor or maybe a Hufflepuff. And it can't just be physical attraction, no, so that must mean…" his eyes went wide and he looked back at Daphne thinking of the one person he had seen recently showing the exact same behaviour. "Seamus?!" Daphne's cheeks went red.

"Say a word to anyone and I will kill you," she threatened but it had no effect. Harry's smile was broad even in the face of her words.

"You like Seamus, I can't believe it," he muttered before letting out a small laugh. "And you were having a go at me for lack of tact." Daphne scowled. "You're right, I was terrible, my bad, but come on, you've got to see how this is funny."

Daphne just stood there, looking mortified as Harry laughed himself almost to tears before he realised that perhaps this wasn't the best way to be reacting and he started to calm down.

"Eh, okay, wow," he said, feeling quite warm and flustered. "So, Seamus, when did this happen?" Daphne glowered at him but he met her gaze and eventually she dropped her head.

"Last term," she muttered. "When you had me come over with Gardevoir the first time."

"That long ago," Harry wondered. This made so much sense now. Daphne always spoke to Seamus almost exclusively when she came over, now he realised why. And this explained just why Daphne had reacted so badly to him kissing her. She hadn't just been mad at him, she'd been confused.

"Yes, look, don't say anything," Daphne said sharply. "Nothing can happen so just… drop it."

"Nothing can happen?" Harry questioned. "Why not?" Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Gryffindor and Slytherin, Potter," she said derisively. "We're rivals, enemies, in the middle of a war of all things."

"You won't always be though," Harry said and he was struck by how he seemed to be repeating the advice McGonagall had given him. "In just over two years we'll be out of here and then Gryffindor and Slytherin won't mean much anymore."

"But there'll still be a war," Daphne pointed out. "And until then what am I supposed to do? Wait two years for a guy who probably doesn't even like me like that. Pull yourself together, Potter." Harry shook his head.

"You're a strong girl with powerful Pokémon," Harry told her. "One of which can literally teleport you right to Seamus without anyone seeing. You're not penned in or left with no choice. You can do anything. An evening stroll through the forest," Harry gestured around him. "Easy. Done."

"Not easy," Daphne denied.

"Maybe," Harry admitted. "But for something that can be so good… isn't it worth the effort?"

He never got a response to that question, Gardevoir had teleported her trainer away moments later, but Harry felt like he'd got through. Maybe it wouldn't come to anything, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin was pretty much unheard of, but maybe it would. With more hope than he'd had in a while Harry went to sleep and dreamt of a day when things would be better.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

To those of you who answered the question of the day in the last chapter thank you, there were some very interesting responses. I was especially interested by the fact that only Vaporeon, Leafeon and Glaceon weren't mentioned as being anyone's favourites, and also how Flareon and Sylveon were some people's favourite and other people's least favourite Pokémon. It just goes to show that everyone looks for different things when they judge Pokémon.

The question of the day will again be from a reviewer. You can see the important part of the review down below:

 _Jacebralor : - ... A question for you, the author, though, with potential for a future question of the chapter, what's your favourite Pokémon type? I mean, between TMs and move tutors, you could have a single type party that has an effective counter against anything you come up against. As of gen V, for example, my ideal moveset for Charizard is Flamethrower, Thunder Punch, Steel Wing, and Sky Drop or Fly, depending if I have another flyer in the party or not, shoring up his weaknesses against most of the types he has disadvantage against._

This is actually a very hard question for me to answer and I couldn't really come up with a single type. If I absolutely had to choose my gut reaction is steel type. I love Pokemon like Aggron, Scizor, Aegislash and Bastiodon. But also I love a lot of fighting types, like Infernape and Lucario (another steel type), ground types, like Torterra and Garchomp, electric types, like Luxray and Electivire, and dark types, like Weavile and Bisharp (again, another steel type). And of course you can't forget dragon types.

In truth I think there's probably at least one Pokémon I absolutely love of every typing, which makes it so hard to choose, but as I've said if I absolutely had to choose one I think it would be steel.

So what are your thoughts? Which typing do you like the most? Which do you think is the best? This may not be the same as your favourite.

Leave your answers in the reviews and I'll see you in the next chapter.


	31. Fight Or Flight

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Cho Chang did not come to the next DA meeting.

Harry wasn't surprised, even as Terry Boot told him how Cho's friend, Marietta Edgecombe, had sent them on without the two girls. Terry's belief was that she was feeling sick, apparently she hadn't been to class the last few days, and Harry did nothing to dissuade him of the notion.

"I'm sure she's fine," Hermione told him, the concern obviously visible on his face. "People get ill all the time, it's only natural." Harry hadn't told Ron and Hermione either. "Anyway, we should get started, we're running behind already."

In practiced fashion the group started to break up into pairs by Hermione's direction, letting out their Pokémon and engaging in battle. Hermione herself had decided to match herself up with Luna and her Loudred.

"Loudred has the ability Soundproof," Hermione explained when he asked. Usually Hermione paired herself up with him or Ron. "I'm hoping that it'll give him some protection from Espurr's attacks and I can train him up."

"And hopefully avoid deafening everyone," Ron added. His Wartortle was battling Parvati's Dratini.

Harry left them to it, wandering around the clearing and watching the battles that were taking place. He was feeling kind of antsy, an uncomfortable energy bubbling within him, and he wondered if he perhaps should go and get himself a battle.

He changed his mind quickly as his eyes fell on one person he could potentially challenge. He had other things on his mind.

"Hey, Dean, do you mind if I borrow Seamus?" Harry asked, walking up to them. Dean waved them away, untroubled and unsuspicious, turning his attention to Bouffalant who was sporting a few bumps and bruises from his battle with Seamus's Infernape.

Harry pulled Seamus away.

"What's up?" Seamus asked, looking slightly nervous. Harry supposed the secrecy he was operating with was somewhat concerning.

"Nothing," Harry said quickly, shaking his head. "I just wanted to let you know I saw Daphne after the last meeting." Now Seamus looked really nervous.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I should've told you she was there but she made me promise. You know what it's like." Harry did. Gryffindors had a weird thing about honour.

"Never mind, I'm not mad," he said quickly. "If anything it's a good thing Daphne wanted to see what was going on. No, it's just something she said that got me thinking, well, about you."

"About me?" Seamus repeated. "She was talking about me?" Harry felt himself grin.

"You like her," he said and Seamus first looked afraid, then angry.

"You tell anyone and I'll knock your block off," he snapped. "Harry Potter or not I'll still beat the living crap out of you." Harry rolled his eyes.

"I'm not going to tell anyone," he told him. It was ridiculous how similarly both Seamus and Daphne had reacted. "I just wanted to make sure I had all my facts right."

"Oh," Seamus said, deflating. "Well, in that case…" He looked up hopefully. "Any advice?"

"You must really be bad if you're asking me for advice," Harry noted. "In fact you're crazy. Honestly, Seamus, if you like her then just go talk to her."

"And say what?"

"Tell her that you like her," Harry said. Surely it was obvious. "How's it ever going to happen if she never finds out." Seamus looked unsure.

"I don't know, I don't think you should ever tell a girl you like her," Seamus said warily. "Just makes you look like an idiot, doesn't it?" Harry shrugged.

"You're a Gryffindor," he said simply. "She probably already thinks you're an idiot." Seamus shook his head.

"I love our little talks," he told Harry, turning and walking away. "They always remind me how normal I am."

"In comparison," Harry noted. Seamus grinned.

Now alone again Harry looked around. Ron had finished his battle with Parvati and had now challenged Hermione, his Wartortle taking on Hermione's Noctowl. Parvati, meanwhile, had turned to her usual partner of Lavender and, seeing the fifth year Gryffindors, Harry was reminded of another problem that was as yet unresolved.

Parvati and Dean were still not on good terms, it was starting to look like they might break up for good, especially since Harry spied Dean talking with Ginny. The very girl Parvati was jealous of. Feeling on some sort of roll he approached the two of them. As he got nearer he found Ginny laughing at something Dean just said.

"Hi, Harry," she said, still smiling from whatever Dean had been talking about.

"Hey," Harry said to her but he never got any further than that.

"Alright, I see what's going on here," Dean said dramatically, causing Harry and Ginny to look at him in confusion. "You're stealing her away, too. You just can't handle my popularity."

"Careful," Harry said, smiling slightly. "You're beginning to sound like Lockhart."

"Haters gonna hate," Dean said and he walked away, presumably to find Seamus again. Harry turned to Ginny.

"What was so funny?" He asked. Ginny was still smiling.

"Nothing," she told him. "Just Dean being Dean."

"You'd know about that," Harry said. "I've noticed you two have been talking a lot." Ginny crossed her arms, looking annoyed.

"Don't do this, Harry, I've already gotten it from Lavender," Ginny snapped. The turnaround in attitude was abrupt and worrying.

"I'm not saying anything, I'm not," he assured her and he must have sounded honest enough for Ginny seemed to relax.

"Sorry," she muttered. "I'm just so tired of it. It's not just Lavender either. Why can't I be friends with someone without everyone automatically assuming that I'm trying to steal him away."

Harry was saved from answering when a large commotion occurred across the clearing and everyone stopped to look.

"Wartortle?" Ron was saying, looking down at the Pokémon in front of him who looked quite strained, as though fighting against invisible ropes tying him down. And then he started to glow.

"Wow," Ginny breathed as she watched Wartortle evolve, the Pokémon growing to many times its previous size before the glow of evolution finally faded. Harry agreed. No matter how many times he saw a Pokémon evolve it never failed to fill him with amazement.

Eventually things calmed down, everyone taking a moment to congratulate a beaming Ron on Wartortle's evolution, and Harry found himself still standing with Ginny.

"So, you don't like Dean?" Harry said as way of restarting their conversation. Ginny sighed.

"I do like him, he's a great guy. I just don't like him like that." Harry frowned.

"In what way is that?" He asked, confused. "What's wrong with Dean?"

"There's nothing wrong with Dean," Ginny said. "He's just not the guy, you know. The right guy."

"How do you know?" Harry asked. Was there something that told you they were the one? Was there something that should have been there when he kissed Daphne if they were really meant to be?

Ginny was looking at him with a peculiar expression, almost as if she wasn't sure if he was being honest or not. Harry found himself feeling very stupid.

"You just know," Ginny said eventually. "When you find the one you know they're the one. There's no sign or signal. It's just the way things are, the way they make you feel just by being there. It's only something you can truly understand if you've experienced it yourself."

"So you have?" Harry said. "Experienced it yourself, that is." Ginny hesitated.

She opened her mouth, about to answer, but she never got the chance. Shouts and screams filled the clearing, people jumping up and clearing a path right through the middle through which a ghostly shape shot towards Harry.

Myrtle came to a stop before him, her eyes wide behind her spectacles, and Harry immediately knew something was wrong.

"Everybody, shut up!" He shouted. They all went silent. The clearing fell still.

Harry turned to Myrtle. "What's happened?" He asked. Myrtle shuddered.

"She's on her way," she gasped, looking horrified. "She knows you're here, you've been betrayed."

"Who's on her way? Umbridge?" Myrtle nodded rapidly.

"She's got a whole army with her," Myrtle told him. "The Inquisitorial Squad, they're all coming too." This was bad. This was very, very bad.

"Seamus," Harry said, turning away from Myrtle to where he'd seen the Irish boy last. Seamus stepped forward. "Take Gardevoir and start getting as many people as you can back to their dormitories. Start with the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws first."

"Aye, mate," Seamus said and immediately Gardevoir appeared at his side and people started to swarm towards him. Harry turned back to Myrtle.

"I need you to go back and watch Umbridge," Harry told her quickly. "I need to know exactly when she'll arrive." Myrtle nodded before she disappeared from sight, zooming back the way she'd come.

Meanwhile Hermione and Ron were approaching.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, his face ashen. "What's happening?"

"We've got to get everyone out of here," Harry said, not bothering to answer the questions, knowing Ron already knew. "Umbridge clearly has information on us so it'll look suspicious if there's no one here. I'll stay behind and pretend to be training or something."

"Harry, no," Hermione said but Harry shook his head.

"We've been betrayed, you heard Myrtle," Harry told her. "Umbridge will be expecting someone here and if she doesn't find anyone you know she'll go straight back to the source. Maybe if she finds me she won't bother looking for the others."

"That's madness, Harry," Hermione scolded him. Harry didn't have time to argue.

"Seamus!" He said as Seamus appeared with Gardevoir once more. "Take Hermione back to Gryffindor Tower."

"Harry! No!"

"Do it!"

And Hermione disappeared.

Just as she did Myrtle returned.

"They're almost here, Harry," she told him. Harry nodded and then looked around the clearing. There were still people there.

"Everyone, run," he instructed and he received some astonished looks. "Go that way and keep going until you get out of the forest, then go round to the left until you find Hagrid's cabin. Hide out there until Seamus finds you." The students looked reluctant. "Go!" He shouted and they finally started to move, Ginny being the last of them, looking back over her shoulder with a worried expression as she disappeared through the trees. The only ones left were Harry and Ron.

"Why are you still here?" Harry asked. He'd thought Ron had agreed with him, otherwise he'd have sent him back too.

"They'll know something's up if you're here on your own," Ron told him, his voice steady. "But if you're here battling a friend that's not suspicious. They only said clubs with three or more students were disbanded. I'm not breaking any rules."

It was smart and even though Harry didn't want to drag anyone down with him he wasn't going to send him away. There was no time for that.

"She's almost here," the whispered voice of Myrtle, not even showing her physical form, prompted them to action.

"Quick, get Charizard out," Ron instructed, hurrying over to stand behind Blastoise. "Make it look like we're battling." Harry acquiesced, letting out his starter Pokémon who roared, preparing for a battle and not yet realising it was only for show.

"Well, well, well," the hated voice of Delores Umbridge came just a moment later and Harry and Ron turned to see her standing over the edge of the cliff face, the Inquisitorial Squad by her side.

* * *

Capturing them wasn't as easy as Umbridge had anticipated. Clearly she'd only been given a general idea of where they were meeting and so she'd approached the clearing from the worst possible direction, leaving no easy way down to where Harry and Ron stood. It only took Umbridge a short while to realise this and so she was forced to order Harry and Ron to come up to her, Harry turning to Charizard for assistance, the fire type flying them up the cliff to where the Inquisitorial Squad waited, unwilling to move forward until Charizard was safely returned to his Pokéball.

It was a long journey back to the castle, not least since the lateness of the hour made visibility poor. Harry and Ron were being marched up to the castle by two Slytherins each, making it hard for them to keep their balance on the uneven forest floor. They passed by Hagrid's hut, Harry hoping the rest of the DA had got back safely, and entered the school. Not a word was said until they came to a stop at the door to the Headmaster's office.

"Alright, that's enough. I'll take it from here," Umbridge instructed, turning to the group. "Go back to the forest and search for the rest of them. You, Nott, grab Weasley." Theodore Nott looked viciously pleased at the prospect, pulling Ron's arms roughly behind his back as Umbridge pushed Harry through the office door.

The Headmaster's office was busier than Harry had ever seen it. By the door Harry was quick to spot Kingsley Shacklebolt, his face a blank professional mask that mimicked that of the man standing on the opposite side of the door, with matching uniforms to go with it. Further into the office and off to the side stood Percy, looking alarmed by Ron's presence, standing in the shadows of none other than Cornelius Fudge. Next to him stood Marietta Edgecombe, standing out of the way and looking uncomfortable. Harry felt his stomach drop.

"Delores, what is the meaning of this?" Professor McGonagall was there, much to Harry's relief, standing next to the Headmaster's desk, behind which sat Dumbledore.

"Just what do you think you are doing bothering my students at this time of night?" McGonagall blustered. "All students should remain in their house common rooms after curfew."

"Ah, but you see, Minerva, I did not find Potter and Weasley in their common rooms," Umbridge said sweetly.

"What?" McGonagall replied sharply.

"I said I did not find them in their common room, Minerva," Umbridge repeated, as though McGonagall had actually misheard her. "I caught them elsewhere, after hours." McGonagall pursed her lips. Fudge, meanwhile, was ecstatic.

"Excellent. Excellent work, Delores," he beamed. "And just where did you find them?"

"In the forest, behind the gamekeeper's hut," Umbridge told him with a satisfied smile. "Exactly as Ms Edgecombe had informed me." Any hope Harry had that Marietta was here purely by accident disappeared. Next to him Ron glared at the girl.

Suddenly the door to Dumbledore's office opened once more and Professor Flitwick hurried inside, followed at a slower pace by Professor Snape.

"Headmaster, just what is happening?" Professor Flitwick said squeakily, hurrying over to Marietta. "Ms Edgecombe, are you alright?" Snape, meanwhile, moved silently to stand behind Harry, Ron and Nott.

"Please, calm yourself, Filius," Dumbledore said soothingly. "Everybody is fine." He turned to the others. "I apologise for the surprise visitors but I felt it pertinent to invite them as they are, after all, the heads of house for Mr Nott and Ms Edgecombe." Professor Umbridge looked annoyed, Dumbledore once again interfering with her plans, but Fudge just nodded.

"Quite right," he said. "This is a very serious matter, after all."

"And what matter is this, exactly?" Snape drawled, his voice cool and full of derision. "I'm sure Potter's and Weasley's transgressions do not require the Minister for Pokémon, or indeed myself, to be present."

Every eye in the room turned to the Minister. He coughed quietly.

"Um, Delores, you are more aware of the details," Fudge said uncomfortably. "Perhaps you would like to explain?"

"Of course, Minister," Umbridge said sweetly. "I'd be delighted to." She turned to the office at large.

"Well," she began. "This all starts last year during the first Hogsmeade visit when I became aware of some sort of group that was planning on meeting at Hogwarts, a group in complete violation of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four."

"Which only came into effect after the Hogsmeade visit," McGonagall interrupted sharply.

"Rules are rules, Minerva," Umbridge told her with a giggle, causing the physiology professor to fume. "At any rate I was certain the idea had not died, even despite warnings that to proceed would lead to severe punishment. I kept searching, keeping a watchful eye on certain key players, and at last I made a breakthrough with the help of Ms Edgecombe here." All eyes turned to Marietta. "She alerted me to the meeting taking place tonight and pointed me right to the clearing where I found Mr Potter and Mr Weasley."

"Is this true, Ms Edgecombe?" Dumbledore asked calmly. Marietta looked a bit overwhelmed to be addressed by Dumbledore directly but, after a glance at Umbridge, she nodded.

"Tell him, Ms Edgecombe," Umbridge prompted. "Tell him everything you told me."

"Well, sir, these meetings happen often," Marietta explained. "There's about thirty of us, only Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, though." At least Daphne was safe. It would have been disastrous if someone like Nott found out her role in this.

"I see," Dumbledore said, again with perfect calm. He looked thoughtful. "And may I ask what was the nature of these meetings? Were they, for example, homework clubs? Or were they more practical in nature?"

"Practical, sir," Marietta told him. "Hermione Granger would split us into pairs and have us battle each other." Beside Harry Ron's fists clenched.

"I see," Dumbledore said again. "Excuse me, Ms Edgecombe, I have just one more question. Do you perhaps know what the goal of these meetings was? What objectives did they set out to accomplish?" Marietta hesitated.

"They wanted to train us," Marietta told him. "They thought You-know-who was back and wanted us to be ready to fight him. They called us Dumbledore's Army."

The whole room went silent.

"You see!" Umbridge cried out, her voice delighted. "Dumbledore's Army! Potter and his friends were building forces with which to undermine the Ministry and continue spreading lies about the return of You-know-who!"

"Are you getting all this, Weasley?" Fudge asked, turning to Percy who had been scribbling away while everyone spoke. He nodded, looking strained.

"Then that's it then, isn't it," Fudge said excitedly. "We'll give the boys a night to pack and then send them home tomorrow." Ron gasped and Percy actually lost hold of his pen, sending it clattering to the floor. McGonagall looked outraged.

"Now there, let's not be too hasty," Professor Flitwick said nervously. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all this."

"Quite," agreed Dumbledore, the only one in the room who still looked completely at ease. "After all, we've only heard one side of the story. Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, perhaps you have something you'd like to say to defend yourselves?"

"Nonsense, Dumbledore, there's no time for that," Fudge interjected before Harry or Ron could speak.

"Is that so?" Dumbledore asked. "Surely you have all the time in the world to make sure justice is done." Fudge had no response to that. Dumbledore turned back to Harry and Ron. "Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, what do you have to say about these allegations?"

"She's lying," Harry said immediately. It was the only way. Marietta could name names all she wanted but she had no proof. It was her word against theirs.

"Come now, Potter, don't be absurd," Umbridge snapped. "You were caught at the scene of the crime."

"We weren't doing anything wrong," Harry said stubbornly. "The Educational Decree only banned groups of three or more students. We were the only ones there."

"He's lying," Marietta said scornfully.

"How would you know?" Ron shot back. "You weren't there."

"I was there for the other meetings," Marietta hissed.

"What other meetings?" Harry deadpanned back. Marietta looked furious.

"Professor Umbridge," Dumbledore interjected, cutting through their argument. "Is it correct that you found only Mr Potter and Mr Weasley?"

"With their Pokémon out!" Umbridge screeched.

"But only _their_ Pokémon," Dumbledore said calmly. "You did not see any students or any evidence that any other students had been there?" She hadn't and everyone in the room knew it.

"It doesn't matter," Umbridge snapped. "We know they were planning on it. Ms Edgecombe told of a meeting in the three broomsticks during the first Hogsmeade weekend where this group was formed. It will be easy to corroborate once we demand Madam Rosmerta's records."

"Yet, as our valued colleague has already pointed out, this was before the Educational decree banning such groups from forming," Dumbledore reminded her with a benign smile. "Only if they insisted on going ahead with these meetings would they have been in violation of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four. Did you have any such meetings, Mr Potter?"

"No sir," Harry replied, his face blank. "It's just been me and Ron."

"But what about Ms Granger?" Fudge said, looking quite uncomfortable with the turn of events. "Weren't the three of you close friends?" Harry blinked. He was surprised Fudge remembered.

"Hermione doesn't like breaking rules," Harry explained. "We didn't tell her anything in case she felt guilty."

"A likely story," Umbridge said angrily. "Ms Granger is a troublemaker. I had her in detention multiple times at the start of the year."

"She was just mad because you weren't teaching us anything," Ron argued. "Hermione always reads her textbooks before coming to Hogwarts. Your class is a waste of time for her."

Umbridge looked positively furious by this point and only seemed to hold back due to an inability to decide who to unleash her anger on. From the side of the room Percy let out a small cough.

"If I may, Minister," he said smoothly. "I believe I have something to contribute to this discussion." Fudge looked surprised, turning to Percy as though he'd forgotten he was there.

"Yes, yes, Weasley. If you have something to say please do."

"Thank you, Minister," Percy said with a polite nod, clearing his throat. "I just thought I should mention that I've been at Hogwarts with Ms Granger for a total of three years and what I've heard here is very in character. Ms Granger is very intelligent, a very rule abiding student, and I believe there is little doubt she is the frontrunner for Head Girl in two years time."

"You think she had nothing to do with this?" Fudge asked.

"I think if she did she would have been caught tonight," Percy said. "She is a Gryffindor, after all." It seemed that was all it took to make up Fudge's mind. He rounded on Marietta.

"So, is that it, girl?" He said, staring down at her, though he wasn't much taller himself. "Thought you'd have a little fun with your stories, not giving a hoot for the time and government resources that were lost to this wild goose chase? You must be so proud of yourself, fooling everyone like that, but there will be consequences." Marietta quailed under Fudge's words, looking completely lost and scared as she turned to Umbridge for help. But Umbridge was angry and humiliated. She would not by coming to the poor girl's aid.

"I wonder just what your parents will think when they hear about this," Fudge's rant continued. "The shame they must feel for your actions. I believe there's a Madam Edgecombe in the Ministry…"

"Department for Transportation, sir," Percy supplied promptly.

"… she's your mother, is that right?" Fudge asked without breaking stride. Marietta was crying by this point, tears streaming down her cheeks, and the only response she could muster was a nod. "Well I'm sure she'll have a lot to say after hearing what happened tonight. I will be _personally_ explaining to her exactly what you've done."

"Cornelius, that's enough," Dumbledore spoke, his voice low but firm. "There is little to be gained by blaming a sixteen year old girl for her irresponsible actions and I will not stand by while you reduce one of my students to tears." Fudge paled.

"Besides, I believe it is time for me to explain my role in the events of tonight," Dumbledore announced. Everyone's head snapped towards him. "You see, Ms Edgecombe was not entirely mistaken."

Harry's eyes widened. Just what was Dumbledore playing at? They'd gotten away with it, made the very idea seem laughable to the Minister himself. Was this some sort of punishment?

Everyone else was looking at Dumbledore in astonishment too and even Professor McGonagall seemed unsure of what he was going to say next. Dumbledore leaned forward.

"You see, I have been making overtures to certain students at this school, outwith Mr Weasley and Mr Potter, and I have been doing it with the goal to train students so they can defend themselves from Lord Voldemort." The whole room shivered at the name. "I had some grand plans," Dumbledore continued. "It was still a work in progress, certainly, but I've been pleased with the results. Though this is the first I've heard of the term 'Dumbledore's Army'. I can't say I care for it much."

The whole room was stunned by his confession.

"Are you sure, Albus?" McGonagall asked. "Are you quite, quite sure?"

"Most definitely, Minerva," Dumbledore said, looking quite relaxed with the situation. "They were, of course, my actions so I would know. I must admit I made a mistake in including Ms Edgecombe, though even I could not predict how much she would discover. Quite the Ravenclaw, the Sorting Xatu does not make mistakes."

"You, you…" Fudge was stammering now, looking as though his head was going to explode from too much new information. "You were starting an army?"

"Well, as I said the word 'Army' isn't really appropriate," Dumbledore said serenely but he never got any further.

"Treason!" Fudge cried, his face pale and pointing a shaking finger at the aged Headmaster. "Treachery! Plotting against the Ministry!"

"Oh, I have no quarrel with the Ministry," Dumbledore said easily, still looking perfectly calm. "My only enemy is Lord Voldemort, and those who pledge allegiance to him."

"Mad," said Fudge. "Completely mad. Aurors, arrest him." Kingsley and the other man at the door were slow to respond, shocked by the Minister's command just like everyone else.

"Now Minister, see here," McGonagall said, stepping forward as her nostrils flared. But Fudge was having none of it.

"Out of the way, Minerva, you have no authority to stop this," he told her, waving her aside. "I may not be able to get you sacked without the approval of the Board of Governors, Dumbledore, but I can have you arrested on suspicion of treason. Shacklebolt, Dawlish, arrest him." Kingsley and Auror Dawlish stepped forward.

Dumbledore stood up and immediately everyone drew back, Kingsley and Dawlish automatically going for their Pokéballs.

"I believe there has been a misunderstanding," Dumbledore said softly, though his very presence radiated power. "You seem to believe that I would allow you to take me away. This is, forgive me, very foolish. Alakazam." Alakazam appeared before him, not from a Pokéball but from thin air. Kingsley and Dawlish clutched their Pokémon tightly.

"Cornelius, think about what you are doing and see the truth before it is too late. When that time comes we will meet again. Until then, Adieu." And he was gone.

The office fell into pandemonium.

"Where is he?!" Fudge cried, looking around wildly. "Where is he?!"

"He must be making his escape," Kingsley said, his voice calm and measured.

"Sir, you can't Teleport off Hogwarts grounds," Percy chimed in.

"So he's still here," Fudge deduced. "Shacklebolt, Dawlish, call in reinforcements and have them form a circle around the boundary wall. We must not let Dumbledore escape."

Kingsley and Dawlish were first out the office, hurrying to follow Fudge's orders, and Fudge himself was next out, followed closely by Percy. Umbridge, the last to leave the room, shot a smug look at Professor McGonagall before the door snapped shut behind her, leaving only the students and heads of house standing in silence.

"Well, thank heavens they're gone." Albus Dumbledore walked out of his personal quarters, looking as calm and unruffled as though he'd just gotten out of bed in the morning. "I must say this room was getting much too crowded." The students were speechless. The staff almost seemed like they'd expected this all along.

"Albus, what the blazes were you thinking?" McGonagall asked immediately. Dumbledore held up a hand.

"All in good time, Minerva," he told her. "Until then could I ask Professor Flitwick and Professor Snape to escort their students back to their house common rooms. It is after hours, after all."

"Of course, Headmaster," Flitwick squeaked immediately. "Right this way, Ms Edgecombe." Snape didn't say any words, he merely grasped Nott by the shoulder and directed him out the door after Flitwick and Marietta. Soon only the Gryffindors remained.

"Sir, what was that?" Harry asked immediately. "Why did you confess? You didn't even do anything." Dumbledore let out a small smile.

"No, I didn't," Dumbledore agreed. "Though that does not mean I could sit back and let Ms Edgecombe take the blame."

"But it was her fault," said Ron, looking flummoxed. "She was the one who ratted us out to Umbridge."

"Yet I assure you she did not understand the consequences of her actions," Dumbledore said calmly. "Neither do you, Ronald, or even you, Harry. And though her actions were beyond foolish and poorly thought through Ms Edgecombe undoubtedly had her reasons. Either way I could not stand by and watch one of the students I am tasked with looking after suffer." He turned to McGonagall.

"I leave Hogwarts in your most capable hands, Minerva," Dumbledore told her. "Undoubtedly Madam Umbridge will attempt to assume the position of headmaster for herself but I'm sure the Board of Governors will be far more keen to see you hold the post in my absence. Look after the students, Minerva."

"Of course, Albus," McGonagall said immediately. Dumbledore nodded.

"I must go," he said, addressing the room at large. "Surely it won't be long before someone thinks to search my quarters. I just have one last thing to say before I go."

"Harry," he said and his twinkling blue eyes met Harry's emerald green. "This will be the last time I see you in a long while. It is unlikely that I'll be able to return to Hogwarts before Voldemort makes his return known. So, until then, I just want to remind you to stay safe. You are much more important than even you know. And until we meet again…" he lowered his head in a small, respectful nod, and then he disappeared from view.

* * *

 **A/N:** And there we have it for this chapter. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

To answer the reviewer on the next time we'll see Eevee, he will certainly be appearing in this story again. This means it won't be too long until we see him as we're nearing the end of the year and everything is just about ready to come to a head.

Also, thanks to those who answered the question of the day for the last chapter. There were an interesting array of types mentioned in answer to what I think is a very tough question.

For this chapter's question of the day we have the following review:

 _DelugeLeader 666_ _: - ..._ _What's your favourite starter? And why?_

My favourite Pokémon is Torterra, so naturally that is also my favourite starter. Ignoring that I found myself torn between three others; Sceptile, Infernape and Greninja.

They are all really cool Pokémon, and it's no surprise that they inevitably are among the strongest Pokémon Ash has in the anime. And despite the fact they're all different types they are very similar in the sense that they are fast, athletic Pokémon who can hit really hard and really fast. I just love the designs of all of them and they are among some of my favourite Pokémon of all time.

So, what's your favourite starter? Is this a Pokémon you've played with a lot or simply like the design of? Please leave your answers in the reviews.


	32. Punishment

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The effect of Dumbledore's departure was felt around the whole school. The very next morning the news spread like wildfire that Dumbledore was on the run but, despite Umbridge's best efforts, few if any believed in the crimes he was accused of. Nobody knew for sure what had happened in Dumbledore's office, the only story coming from Theodore Nott, and no one believed him.

Dumbledore's departure further divided the school into two factions. The Gryffindors, outraged that Dumbledore had been forced from the school, were loud in their protests. They also didn't hold back against Marietta Edgecombe either.

Marietta had kept her head down since the incident, but that did not keep her from being the centre of attention. While generally not well known outside her house and year group she had now drawn the wrath of the whole of Gryffindor House, angry as they, correctly, believed her to have betrayed their house mates to the devil herself.

The Hufflepuffs were not much better. While not outwardly hostile to Marietta they did favour her with a cold indifference. Betrayal was a cardinal sin in any house, particularly Hufflepuff, and they had a few DA members who had suffered from Edgecombe's actions.

Even Ravenclaw and Slytherin didn't hold many friends for the beleaguered sixth year girl. The Slytherins, while gleeful that those in the other houses were in trouble, did not care about Marietta as anything more than a means to an end. Meanwhile the Ravenclaws were split with those who were friendly with Marietta beforehand backing her up and those who were friends of the Ravenclaw DA members, Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot and Michael Corner, actively shunning her.

In all honesty Harry didn't much care for the drama surrounding Marietta Edgecombe. She could suffer all she wanted or get away scot-free as far as he was concerned. She'd already done her damage.

While Harry's quick thinking had prevented him from being expelled - Umbridge forgot to even punish him for being out after curfew - he, and the rest of the DA, still paid the price for Marietta's treachery. Though she had no evidence of anything untoward Professor Umbridge still sought to punish them. And with Dumbledore gone, and a list of names provided by Marietta, there was nothing to stop her from taking her revenge.

And so on Saturday Harry found himself in the Great Hall surrounded by the rest of the DA, aside from Marietta and Cho, scratching away on the paper before him. As the students wrote their lines aurors, on duty to ensure Dumbledore would not return, stalked the aisles in silence as the professors sat at the high table, McGonagall's face taught, Umbridge's featuring a broad, toad like smile.

For hours they were kept there, not even being allowed to leave as periodically their desks were removed for the Hogwarts House tables as they were joined by the rest of the school for lunch and dinner.

Eventually, as curfew drew closer, Professor Umbridge stood up.

"Well, I think that should be enough for today, don't you." She was met with glowers from the students but nobody spoke. "Yes, I think you've all had plenty of time to learn the error of your ways. Now, everyone off to bed. I would hate to catch any of you out after hours, hm."

The response from the students was lethargic. Nobody moved for a moment, just glad to finally be able to stop writing. The sharp clack of heels on the stone floor sounded and Harry looked up to watch Umbridge strut down the centre of the desks, her head high, a self-satisfied smile on her face.

"Bitch," Ron muttered darkly as she left. Like everyone he was nursing his writing hand, wincing with every touch, but some had it worse than him.

"It's okay, Luna," Neville was saying softly, gently guiding Luna out of the room. The blond girl was close to tears. "It'll be alright. Just… try not to think about it."

"I can't believe Umbridge actually went through with this," Ron said as he, Harry and Hermione followed Neville and Luna out the hall. "Is this what it was like for you, Hermione?" Hermione nodded.

"Yes," she said. "But not as bad. I wasn't stuck writing for anywhere near as long as this. It took a whole week before my hand felt this bad."

Harry supposed they really shouldn't have been surprised but he had thought Umbridge would have been less severe with a larger group. He had clearly underestimated her.

The group of students split up once leaving the Great Hall, each heading back to their own house common rooms. All with the exception of Luna who remained by Neville's side, Ginny quickly finding her way to Luna's other side as they walked. Together the Gryffindors plus Luna made their way to the Gryffindor Common Room and fell into seats around the fire.

"Well, I'm going to bed," Fred announced dully after a while, standing up. "Lets just get this hellish day over with, shall we."

"Here here," George and Lee muttered, leaving the Common Room for the dormitories and soon to be followed by Angelina, Alicia and Katie. Soon only the younger members of Gryffindor House remained.

"Sorry," Harry muttered into the silence. There was not much else to say.

"Mate, not to be funny or anything," Seamus responded. "But what the heck are you talkin' about?" Harry looked up.

"This," he said. Surely it was obvious. "The detention. Umbridge. I'm sorry I got you guys all caught up in it."

"Well, it's not like it was your fault," Dean told him.

"Yeah, we all were part of the DA," Seamus said. "It's thanks to you we weren't expelled."

"But you wouldn't have been in trouble at all if it wasn't for the DA," Harry pointed out.

"You mean we wouldn't be in trouble if it wasn't for Umbridge," Ron countered. "It's her fault, mate. It's why we started the DA in the first place."

"And if you have forgotten it was my idea," Hermione pointed out. "If you want to blame anyone for this blame me."

"No," Harry said. "No, you chose me as leader. It is my responsibility to look out for you. No one else's."

"Do you honestly not hear how ridiculous that sounds?" Ginny told him. "You are acting like we need to be looked after. I know we haven't battled Death Eaters or You-know-who but we're not that different, Harry. We all knew the risks of joining but we also knew why we had to do it."

"I don't regret joining the DA," Neville spoke up. "I've learned loads, and made some new friends. I don't know how much use I'll be fighting Death Eaters but at least I know something that might help."

"Me too," Parvati said. She was sitting next to Dean, her hand in his, and it appeared that their fight was now over. "I've never been strong or smart but at least now if my family are attacked over the holidays me and Padma will be able to do something about it."

"Same here," Seamus said. "I don't regret any of it. I've got me mam to look after. She doesn't have anyone else to protect her."

"We all feel the same way," Dean said, the gathered students nodding in agreement. "We know what's coming, we know we have to be ready. And we're thankful for everything that you've done."

And Harry believed him. It was never a problem of worrying that they would blame him for his actions. It was that they didn't know the consequences, not really. And Harry was starting to realise what Dumbledore had been getting at. They'd chosen a side and the opportunity to back out was fading away.

Hermione looked up at the clock. "It's almost curfew," she said. "You'll have to leave now if you want to get back to Ravenclaw Tower, Luna."

"She doesn't have to," Ginny interjected. "She can stay here if she likes." Hermione looked strained, her normal rule abiding nature fighting against the idea, but fortunately Luna came to her rescue.

"It's alright," she said serenely. "I should be getting back. My dorm mates might worry if I don't return." From the look on Ginny's face that seemed unlikely, and it was clear what Ginny thought of the matter.

"I'll come with you," she said eventually, rising from her seat.

"Me too," Harry said, also standing up. "I don't think any of us should be out on our own tonight." Ginny shot him a suspicious look but did not argue. Meanwhile, Luna beamed at him and Harry became uncomfortably aware that this sort of kindness was rarely offered to Luna by anyone other than Ginny.

"Don't be too long," Hermione said, looking worried. "You know how much Umbridge would love to catch you out after hours, Harry."

"I'll be careful," he promised. "See you when I get back."

The journey between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Tower wasn't a long one as both common rooms were situated on the same floor, albeit at opposite ends of the castle. The majority of it passed in silence. Then Luna spoke.

"It was very nice of you to accompany me, Harry," she told him.

"I just think we need to be more careful at the moment," Harry responded. "Without Dumbledore we're a lot more vulnerable."

"Still, it was very nice," Luna said. "Nobody else did."

"Ginny did," Harry pointed out. The redhead didn't seem offended by Luna's words but there was a stiff quality to her features, cast in shadow.

"Ginny's my friend," Luna said simply. The implications of this statement stopped Harry in his tracks.

"I'm your friend too, Luna," he told her softly. "You know that, right?" Luna turned to survey him, cocking her head curiously to the side before smiling.

"I suppose you are," she said happily. "Oh, we're here. Thank you very much for the company, Harry. And Ginny, I'll see you tomorrow?" Ginny nodded. "Alright. Goodnight then," and she walked into the Ravenclaw Common Room, closing the door behind her and leaving Harry and Ginny alone in darkness.

For a moment they did not move.

"Potter." Harry recognised the voice and thoroughly wished he'd already left. Marietta Edgecombe was standing behind him, evidently returning to the Ravenclaw Common Room as well, with Cho standing behind her.

"Marietta," Harry said blandly. He didn't want this to escalate.

Evidently Marietta realised this and she did not say anything, at least to him.

"Come on, Cho," she encouraged, gesturing her friend towards the common room and moving as though to shield her from Harry as she passed. They reached the door to the common room and entered, Cho's head bowed so as to avoid eye contact, and with one last hateful glare from Marietta the door snapped shut behind them.

"What a piece of work," Ginny spat, glaring at the closed door.

"Yeah," Harry agreed but his heart wasn't in it. He couldn't bring himself to hate Marietta for what she'd done, even though it had put him and the rest of the DA in an awful position. It was just hard not to understand her motives.

Ginny gave him a weird look. "Why are you acting like this?" She asked. "I'd have thought you'd be as angry as the rest of us after what Edgecombe did. What do you know that we don't?" Harry hesitated.

"It's nothing," he said, though knowing immediately that she'd never believe him. He started to walk away. "I've just got other things to worry about." But Ginny wasn't going to let this go in a hurry.

"You've been acting weird in general," she told him, following him down the corridor. "Like walking back with Luna."

"I wanted to make sure she was alright," Harry said simply.

"She's a tough girl, she knows how to look after herself," Ginny told him. "And she's gone four years dealing with things without your help, why does it suddenly matter now?" Harry didn't have an answer to that so he stayed silent.

"And what's with all this taking blame for yourself?" Ginny continued, not in the slightest bit interested in stopping. "Why are you so sure this is all your fault?"

"Because it is my fault," Harry snapped, whirling around to face her. "Getting caught, Dumbledore leaving the school, that was all my fault." He looked away, running a hand frustratedly through his hair. "Look, if you don't agree with me then that's fine, but it's the truth. If you knew what Marietta knows you'd understand why she did what she did."

"How do you know that?" Ginny challenged. "Instead of explaining to me what I'd think you should just tell me what happened and allow me to form my own opinions. I might surprise you." Harry didn't want to, the shame was such that he'd rather nobody else knew, but he realised he'd already gone too far to back out now.

He sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"She's doing it for Cho," Harry admitted, feeling exhausted. "That's why she turned on us."

"Okay," Ginny said, her tone reasonable. "So what happened?" Harry took a breath, then told her.

"It was one of the last DA meetings," he told her. "Cho stayed behind to talk to me, she wanted to talk about Cedric. She got really emotional and then one thing led to another and she kissed me and I… I pushed her away." Harry turned his head, preferring to look away at the blank stone wall instead of meeting Ginny's gaze. "I tried to fix it but she ran and then Gardevoir teleported her away. That's why Marietta betrayed us, she was getting back at me. I'm just sorry the rest of you got caught up in all this."

Ginny was silent for a long time, Harry could just imagine the condemnation in her gaze, but when she spoke her words were soft.

"So that's what you've been worried about," she said. "Oh Harry." Harry looked up. There was no condemnation from Ginny, just a sad yet fond look on her face.

"I messed up," he told her. "My personal problems ruined it for the whole DA. I should have handled the situation better."

"No one could have handled that situation," Ginny denied.

"I shouldn't have pushed her away," Harry continued, ignoring Ginny's protestations. "I should have just completed the kiss and then tried to talk to her."

"Harry, who knows what would have happened if you'd done that," Ginny told him. "No one could be prepared for a situation like that, let alone a fifteen year old boy in the middle of his first kiss." Harry looked away awkwardly.

"That wasn't your first kiss?" Ginny asked, surprised. "Who - Never mind, I don't want to know." Harry was grateful. His kiss with Daphne was not something to talk about with anyone.

"I'm just saying that it is not your fault this happened," Ginny told him. "You were put into an impossible situation by a girl with absolutely no control of her emotions."

"This isn't Cho's fault," Harry said quickly. He couldn't have Ginny thinking that. "She loved Cedric. They went to the Yule Ball together and everything."

"So did we, Harry," Ginny reminded him.

"You know that was different," Harry said. "Cho and Cedric had something special. I've been struggling with his death and I barely knew him. I can't begin to understand how Cho must feel. You can't lose someone you love and just be fine. She looked like she was coping so we forgot. She didn't. It's not her fault."

For a moment there was silence. Then Ginny sighed.

"I know it's not her fault," Ginny said. "But it's not your fault either. Sometimes there is no one to blame, it's just a matter of circumstance and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Cedric loved her," Harry said, his voice cracking. "He'd have wanted me to look after her. He would've hated me for what happened."

"I don't think he would," Ginny told him, shaking her head. "But I'd point out that you have been looking after her. You've been teaching her how to look after herself."

"It's not enough," Harry denied, shaking his head. Ginny leaned forward, taking hold of his chin and pulling it so that he was forced to meet her gaze.

"You're a hero, Harry," Ginny told him, her voice soft but firm. "You are a hero to me, you are a hero to Sirius, you are a hero to everyone who stands against Voldemort for just speaking the truth when the Ministry and everyone else calls you a liar. But you're not god, Harry. You can't do everything." She let go of his chin, taking a step back and his gaze followed.

"But it's incredible to watch you try."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed.

To Jacebralor: I'm glad that my story has been able to help you keep your spirits up. I know how tough it can be coming back from work sometimes and I don't even have to deal with customers on a regular basis. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Thanks also to those who responded to the question of the day in the last chapter. In answer to what your favourite starter is we had mentions of Bulbasaur, Charizard, Sceptile, Feraligatr, Cyndaquil, Torterra and Infernape, all of which are great Pokémon in my opinion. In fact, there are very few starters I don't really like, though I would've really been surprised if anyone had claimed Meganium was their favourite starter.

For the question of the day in this chapter I've decided to move away from the Pokémon side of things and ask instead a question from the Harry Potter side: A question that I'm sure everyone will already know their answer to.

QOTD: What is your Hogwarts House?

I'm definitely a Ravenclaw. I'm not particularly loud or outgoing, like a Gryffindor, and I can end up procrastinating way too much, so no to Hufflepuff, and I follow the rules way too much to be a Slytherin. However I am really smart and value intelligence so the house of the brainy has to be it for me.

What is your Hogwarts House? Are you perhaps a mixture of more than one? Please let me know in the reviews.


	33. The Quidditch Final

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

As always happened when things changed at Hogwarts there was a period of high tension before, inevitably, things returned to some form of normality. In this case Dumbledore leaving the school turned out to be mostly symbolic, the Board of Governors appointing Professor McGonagall as interim Headmistress for the rest of the year with the effect that the school functioned pretty much as normal. Umbridge seemed to have decided the DA had been punished enough, reverting back to simply being a horrible and useless teacher, and the tension between the DA and Marietta Edgecombe settled into mutual dislike.

For a brief moment everything was quiet, but that was before Quidditch returned to the school agenda. And this time there was a lot more riding on it than simple bragging rights.

The final game of the season was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw and, given Marietta's role in ratting out the majority of the Gryffindor team, and Cho being the Ravenclaw Seeker, there was more at stake than just the Quidditch Cup.

There was some complicated mathematics behind just how much Ravenclaw needed to win by in order to win the Quidditch Cup, having lost to Slytherin earlier in the year, but Angelina was adamant that it didn't matter. There was a way for Gryffindor to lose and still retain the Quidditch Cup too but Angelina wasn't going to accept anything less than victory.

"We're the best team in this school," she told them during yet another tough and gruelling practice session. "Even without out first choice Beaters the cup is ours."

Harry wished he was as confident. Ginny had come on leaps and bounds since her inclusion in the team, her Haunter honestly one of the better Beaters in the school, but with Andrew Kirke and his Gligar on the field it was like they were playing with only six Pokémon.

Not that that bothered the mass of Gryffindor students who were confidently predicting another convincing Gryffindor win. Every single student dressed in red and gold was happy and excited on the morning of the match, with two very obvious exceptions.

"Can you believe it," Fred grouched as he sat at the Gryffindor table at breakfast, George at his side. "Our last ever Hogwarts Quidditch match and we don't even get to play."

"And whose fault is that," Angelina snapped. Fred wisely chose not to respond.

"Don't worry, Fred," Ginny told him. "We'll make sure we win and keep the Quidditch Cup in McGonagall's office." It was very confident from someone playing in only their second ever match. Angelina nodded approvingly.

"Good girl," she said. "That's precisely the attitude we should take onto the pitch. Now come on, we need to get down to the stadium." They said their goodbyes to Fred and George, as well as Hermione and Lee Jordan who had been sitting with them.

The Gryffindors applauded their exit.

"Alright everyone, listen up," Angelina said as they gathered in the changing room, quickly pulling on their Quidditch uniforms as the stands above them started to fill up. "Ravenclaw are good, we know this. If it weren't for Chang being so hit and miss this season they'd have beaten Slytherin. We must be prepared for anything they can throw at us because if they have it they'll use it. Weasley, Kirke, they'll probably target you. Don't panic, stay calm, you're good enough to take them." Ginny nodded firmly. Kirke swallowed.

"Weasley, keep doing what you've been doing in practice. Don't take unnecessary risks, stay solid, let the Chasers do the attacking." Ron nodded.

Angelina turned to Harry.

"Potter, this is all on you," she told him. "We don't know which version of Chang we're going to be facing today so we've got to assume it's the good one that got her on the team in the first place. Just remember what she did to us. Focus on it, use it, and make sure she gets what she deserves."

Angelina couldn't have said anything worse if she tried. Harry started to feel queazy, a sensation that had nothing to do with nerves, and wished for some miracle that he'd get to play against virtually anyone else.

Angelina stood before them.

"Ready?" She said, looking down at them. "Then lets go." The rest of the team hurried to fall into line behind their captain, Harry taking his usual spot at the end.

As she passed, Ginny grabbed his arm.

"Forget it's Cho," she told him, her voice low and urgent. "Don't think about who you're playing. Just pretend it's just another Quidditch match." Harry nodded as Ginny walked away, taking her place in line behind Ron. Andrew Kirke, standing between them, gave Harry a weird look.

"Okay team," Angelina said. "Here we go." And she led them out onto the pitch.

The crowd cheered their arrival as they stepped out into the sunlight, the Gryffindors especially exuberant as they waved red and gold banners and shouted louder than the boos that came from the Slytherin end. Harry had been in a championship match once before, back when they had won it in his third year, but this time was different. Last time they had been playing Slytherin and the other three houses had thrown their full support behind the Gryffindor team. This time the crowd applauded just as loudly as the Ravenclaw team walked out onto the field, led by their captain Roger Davis.

"Captains, shake hands," Madam Hooch instructed and Roger Davis and Angelina stared at each other, hands clenched tight, before they let go and Davis moved up the line. As he shook hands with the various members of the Ravenclaw team Harry steeled himself and when Cho reached him he purposefully stared over her shoulder as he clasped her hand for only the briefest of moments.

"Release your Pokémon," Madam Hooch instructed and Harry did, gratefully jumping into his hot air balloon and putting distance between himself and the Ravenclaws as Talonflame fluttered before him.

"On my whistle. Three, two, one," and the game begun.

"Welcome to the final match of the season, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!" The familiar voice of Lee Jordan resonated around the stadium. "It's all to play for so brace yourselves, things are about to get technical." He cleared his throat.

"To win the Quidditch Cup Ravenclaw must win by at least fifty points," he announced. "If they win by exactly fifty it'll be a tie with Slytherin decided by points scored, meaning Ravenclaw would need over two hundred and twenty points. A Ravenclaw win between fifty and twenty points would hand the cup to Slytherin and Gryffindor will retain the trophy provided they lose by no more than twenty and score at least two hundred points." Lee took a breath.

"If you got all that then you must be a Ravenclaw cause I've got it written down here and I'm still confused. Anyway, we can figure that out later. Angelina Johnson's Lopunny has the Quaffle and Gryffindor are on the attack."

It was a high quality game of Quidditch between two teams that were technically better than any other in the school. The three Gryffindor chasers were playing some great stuff and it was reflected in Lee's commentary.

'Great vision by Lopunny', he'd say. 'So agile that Hitmonlee', 'Hitmontop! So adaptable!', and occasionally he'd throw out some praise for Ron or Ginny who were more than holding their own in the match.

The only problem was that the Ravenclaws were playing just as well and they were getting contributions from all six Pokémon actively involved in the game. Meanwhile Kirke's Gligar was watching the game pass by. It was making a huge difference.

"Accurate Hydro Pump there by Feraligatr on Lopunny and Heliolisk is through. Goal! Ravenclaw lead by one hundred and twenty to eighty!"

The score was racking up, the snitch nowhere to be seen, and Harry was starting to get worried. He had full faith in Talonflame, even against an opponent like Swellow Harry knew he could win, but if the lead kept growing it soon wouldn't matter. If Ravenclaw were more than one hundred and seventy points ahead Harry could not catch the snitch.

He was distracted by Madam Hooch's whistle.

"Time out, Gryffindor!" She announced and, surprised, Harry started to lower himself to the ground. Meanwhile Lee Jordan was busy explaining what was happening.

"Angelina Johnson calls a timeout with the scores one hundred and seventy to one hundred and ten in Ravenclaw's favour," he announced. "There is still no sign of the snitch but this is bad news for Slytherin. They can only win now if Ravenclaw are victorious by thirty or forty points, meaning it's most likely that we are watching the next Quidditch champions right now. A lot depends on the Seekers, Potter against Chang, but still anything can happen."

Harry quietly pondered the irony of the fact that Slytherin now needed Harry to catch the snitch in order to win the Quidditch Cup as he reached the ground and climbed out of the balloon, walking over to where Angelina was impatiently waiting for him.

"Take your time, Potter," she snapped. "It's not like we're on a timer or anything." Harry scowled.

"I'm here," he said. "It's you that's wasting time now." Angelina did not deign to respond, instead turning to the rest of the team.

"We're down," she said. "Ravenclaw are playing well and we have our backs against the wall. The snitch is staying hidden, all of which means we have a battle on our hands. We need to buckle down and fight. It can't be long now until the snitch appears but they know that too meaning they're going to come out faster, stronger and with more purpose than ever before. We need to hold them back, keep the score down, and leave the rest to Potter." Her eyes narrowed. "Potter, are you listening?"

"Of course I'm listening," Harry snapped back. "Believe it or not I know how to play Quidditch."

"I don't doubt your ability I doubt your effort," Angelina challenged. Harry was startled.

"The snitch hasn't appeared yet," he complained.

"Good thing too," retorted Angelina. "I doubt you'd catch it with that attitude. Do you even care about winning?"

"Of course I care," Harry replied.

"Do you?" Angelina continued. "It doesn't look like it. Is this just a game to you, Potter? Something you do in your free time? I see more passion in the Hufflepuffs than in you." Now Harry was angry.

"You think I don't care?" Harry asked in disbelief. "I care just as much as you do, more even. You think I don't want to win, let Ravenclaw or _Slytherin_ get the cup? No! I want to win and as long as I remain at Hogwarts the Quidditch Cup is staying in McGonagall's office!"

Harry hadn't noticed the crowd grow quiet as his voice rose in volume. Not until he was finished, panting heavily, did he realise the whole school was listening. Angelina was watching him with a satisfied expression on her face.

"That's time," Madam Hooch announced, approaching the Gryffindor team and speaking to Angelina. "Are you ready?"

There was a smirk on Angelina's face as she turned back to stare at Harry, Harry meeting her gaze steadily. There was still anger in him, anger at what she'd said and anger at the way she'd manipulated him, but otherwise his attention was focused.

He nodded.

When the game restarted the players attacked with renewed vigour, spurred on by a crowd just as hyped by Harry's outburst as he was. The players clashed below and Harry, floating high above them, kept his eyes firmly focused on the battle in front of him. No longer was he distracted by his situation with Cho, he was back to how he should be. Right here, right now, the game was the most important thing in the world and Harry would not lose.

Time passed and the crowd calmed but Harry's focus did not waver, even as Ravenclaw's lead continued to grow. And so when the snitch finally appeared he was ready for it.

"Talonflame, go!" Harry commanded, Talonflame soaring off, glad to finally be doing something after so long waiting for action. Across the pitch Cho's Swellow did the same.

"Talonflame, Ember!" Talonflame shot out a trail of burning embers into Swellow's path, distracting it just enough to allow Talonflame to nip in and snatch up the snitch. He turned back to Harry.

"Talonflame! Look out!" Harry's warning came just in time as a moment later a blast of water shot through the air, clipping Talonflame's wing as he swerved to avoid it. "Behind you!"

Ravenclaw's second Beater, a ferocious looking Fearow, was closing in. Beak aimed straight at Talonflame Fearow started to spin, picking up speed in a dangerous Drill Peck attack.

"Dive!" Harry instructed, Talonflame plummeting to the ground on his command as Fearow went flying over him. "Get in amongst the other players!"

Harry's plan worked. Fearow, not willing to risk injuring its teammates, pulled up short as Talonflame reached ground level, slaloming between the Chasers who continued to play even as all attention turned to the Snitch.

Talonflame had to come up eventually, Swellow and Fearow lurking high above between him and the Gryffindor pole, but Harry didn't even have a chance to figure out a way past them before Talonflame looped around the Ravenclaw team's Heliolisk and was met solidly with Feraligatr's Aqua Tail attack.

"Talonflame!" Harry cried out as his Pokémon went flying, tumbling to the ground as the Snitch fell from his grasp. Swellow swooped.

"Talonflame, quick, pull yourself together!" Harry shouted but it was no use as Swellow deftly plucked the Snitch off the grass and flew off in the direction of the Ravenclaw pole.

"Talonflame, quick!" Harry shouted and Talonflame righted himself. Before he could take off, however, the hulking form of Feraligatr loomed over him.

"Gligar!" Andrew Kirke's Gligar, virtually unnoticeable for most of the match, threw himself at Feraligatr, wrapping his claws and stinger around the water type's face so he was completely blinded. Harry wasted no time.

"Flame Charge, Talonflame!" He instructed and Talonflame shot off, his body surrounded by fire as he flew off after the Snitch. Up above Ginny's Haunter was doing all he could to slow Swellow down, having to take on Fearow too as the Beater tried to guide her Seeker home.

"Talonflame, Fire Blast!"

All three battling Pokémon flinched away from the intense heat as Talonflame finally caught up with the battle. He headed straight for Swellow, eyes fixed on the ring clasped in her talons, and reached out to grab it. At the last moment Swellow realised what was happening and strengthened her grip, the two Pokémon caught in a stalemate as they fought for dominance.

"Talonflame, go down!" Harry instructed and Talonflame dived, forcing Swellow to come down with him. Feraligatr was free once more, Gligar lying in a heap on the ground, but he dared not attack while his own Seeker was in the firing line.

Down and down they flew, never deviating as they headed straight for the ground below. It was a test of nerve, of who would pull up first, and it was a test Talonflame won, soaring across the ground as Swellow reluctantly relinquished her hold on the Snitch, flying off in the other direction to avoid crashing into the ground.

But it wasn't over yet. Fearow had followed the two diving Pokémon and now that they'd separated was haring after Talonflame. A Hydro Pump from Feraligatr went flying by, Talonflame twisting and turning to avoid the water type's most powerful attacks.

"Come on, Talonflame! Try to get to me!" Harry encouraged but it was clear Talonflame had his talons full avoiding Fearow's snapping beak and Feraligatr's devastating Hydro Pumps. He needed help.

And so help came.

"Haunter, Hypnosis!" Harry barely heard Ginny's voice all the way down on the field below but he did see the effect. As Fearow took another snap at Talonflame, the fire and flying type veering away to avoid her, Haunter appeared in his place. Fearow neither expected nor was ready for the attack and her eyes drooped. She flew straight through Haunter's incorporeal body and crashed to the ground, fast asleep.

Talonflame took advantage, flying up into the air and deftly dodging another Hydro Pump, the Gryffindor pole in sight.

Wham!

No less than ten feet from the pole Talonflame was almost knocked clean out of the sky as Swellow, having waited patiently for him to emerge, struck Talonflame with a vicious Aerial Ace.

"Get the Snitch, Swellow!" Cho's voice carried over from the Ravenclaw end and Swellow dove after Talonflame. Seeing his opponent bearing down on him Talonflame quickly adjusted his body to shield the Snitch. Instead Swellow grabbed hold of him, her sharp talons scrabbling at his body as she tried to pull the Snitch from his grasp.

"Flame Charge!" Harry shouted and fire erupted around Talonflame's body, immediately causing Swellow to flinch back as Talonflame pulled himself free. He soared across the pitch, dodging Feraligatr's Hydro Pump, before turning for one more attempt to get home.

"Swellow!" The cry echoed across the Quidditch pitch, louder than anything that had gone before, and Harry felt his stomach drop. As Talonflame turned to head back to the Gryffindor pole Swellow rose into his path, a fierce expression on her face. And from the wild strength Swellow was emanating and the burned feathers that scattered her plumage Harry could work out what had happened. Guts had activated.

Cho had called out an attack, an Aerial Ace, and Harry knew he needed to act fast. You couldn't dodge Aerial Ace. You needed to fight fire with fire.

"Flame Charge!"

The connection was fierce and for a moment it looked equal, though Harry could immediately tell that it wasn't. Swellow blew past after only a brief moment, sending Talonflame tumbling, but importantly he still had the Snitch. Swellow flew in for another attack.

"Talonflame, use Razor Wind!" As Swellow approached Talonflame flapped his wings powerfully, causing distortions in the air and forcing Swellow to slow down and weave her way through, by which time Talonflame had used Agility and was gone.

But Swellow knew Agility too and Talonflame couldn't get far before Swellow intercepted him, forcing him to change direction and move away from his goal.

"Talonflame, use Fire Blast!" Another Fire Blast barely bought Talonflame a second, the Guts ability leaving Swellow with little appreciation of physical discomfort as she flew dangerously close to the flames and Talonflame was forced to turn once more.

Meanwhile Harry was thinking. How could he get Talonflame back safely? Swellow was too strong to be taken on one on one and too fast to simply outfly. The only way left was to cause a distraction.

"Talonflame, dive!" Harry instructed and again Talonflame flew towards the ground, getting in amongst the Chasers who still played on. Harry had no idea what the score was now, could only hope they hadn't fallen too far behind, as Talonflame slalomed through the Chasers.

"Gatr!" Talonflame's resistance was nearly ended as a vicious set of teeth just missed him, Feraligatr's attack even pulling out a couple of tail feathers as Talonflame passed. Harry grit his teeth. This was too dangerous.

He'd been in a situation similar to this before. Back then it had been Vigoroth he'd needed to shrug off and he'd used the bulk of Wood's Snorlax to do it. Only Wood's Snorlax was no longer there and his replacement, Ron's Machoke, was not only less bulky but weak to Swellow's flying type attacks, as was most of the rest of the team. He wouldn't buy much time.

"Talonflame, behind Machoke!" Harry instructed. It wasn't great but it was all he had and maybe, just maybe, he'd gain just enough time to end this. Talonflame swooped across the field, easily outpacing the attacking Ravenclaw Chasers, with Swellow on his tail, and swerved behind Machoke.

Swellow struck Machoke with incredible force, pinning him back against the middle of his three goalposts before rising up to follow Talonflame. But Machoke was quicker, reaching out to pull Swellow into a tight embrace despite the hit and giving Talonflame a precious few seconds to head home.

"Quick Talonflame!" Harry shouted urgently. The whole stadium was shouting with him, half urging Talonflame onwards while the other half complained at the obvious violation Machoke was committing. Time seemed to slow down.

Talonflame flew towards Harry, determination in his eyes even as his body started to fail him. In the distance, far below, Feraligatr took aim. A blast of water shot forth, flying straight up at Talonflame, and Harry realised with horror that Talonflame would not reach him in time.

"Shadow Ball!"

A ball of ghostly energy shot out of nowhere, the user of the attack materialising into being between Talonflame and Feraligatr and taking his attack head on. Haunter's Shadow Ball and Feraligatr's Hydro Pump fought for dominance, rippling the air before they exploded.

And out of the smoke flew Talonflame, soaring the last few feet to Harry and dropping the Snitch onto the Gryffindor pole.

The stands erupted. For a moment Harry worried that he'd been too late, that Ravenclaw had won or even that he'd somehow handed the title to Slytherin.

But the banners flying below were red and gold.

"Gryffindor win the match! Gryffindor win the match!" Lee Jordan was yelling, the final confirmation Harry needed before his face broke into a grin. "Gryffindor win! Final score; three hundred and fifty to three hundred and thirty! What a game! What a battle! What a win!"

Harry grinned as Talonflame alighted on his arm, looking exhausted but pleased. Across the field Harry spotted Cho in a very similar position, yet the mood couldn't be more different. Swellow was perched on the edge of the balloon, hanging her head in disappointment that was echoed in her trainer. Without the wild look in her eye Swellow looked thoroughly bedraggled, her feathers burnt and sticking up at odd angles. Cho was talking to her, soft words of encouragement, Harry guessed, and Harry felt terrible that he had piled more misery upon her.

Yet, as Ginny had said, he couldn't do everything and the least he could do was his best for the people he could.

And speaking of Ginny, the red head was the first one to throw her arms around him once he'd finally touched down on solid ground. She was immediately joined by Ron, thumping him hard on the back, and then Angelina who was in floods of tears, clinging to Harry as though he had just saved her life. Alicia and Katie followed and even Andrew Kirke, his Gligar clinging to his back, crosseyed but happy, before the team were called into the centre of the pitch to receive their trophy.

They shook hands with their opponents, the Ravenclaws bitterly disappointed but gracious in defeat, before they took centre stage, their Pokémon standing with them. Professor McGonagall, beaming with pride even as she dabbed away the tears with her tartan scarf, handed the Quidditch Cup to Angelina who lifted it triumphantly into the air.

Times were tough, the year had been full of disappointments, but in this moment Harry felt on top of the world. He would never forget this feeling.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry for the late upload.

First of all I'd like to clarify my position on Meganium. I do not hate it. I think it's actually a decent Pokémon. I just don't think it stands out in the same way a lot of the other starters do.

On that note thanks for those who reviewed the last chapter. To Tmriddle's question about Ginny's Vulpix I would say that Vulpix has actually already evolved, only it hasn't been mentioned since Harry wasn't around to see it happen. It occurred sometime after the Yule Ball but before the last task in Harry's fourth year so you can understand how it managed to fly under the radar. Don't worry though, you will see Ninetales at some point.

To those of you who answered the question of the day thank you for sharing. Even though I said I was a Ravenclaw I would add that my second house would probably be Hufflepuff, due to my sense of fair play. Also I was very interested to note that there were no Slytherins, which I expected there to be a few of.

The reviews brought up a couple of very interesting questions for me to use in this chapter but I've decided to save them for later and instead ask a question much more along the same theme as what has happened in this chapter.

 _QOTD: If you were at Hogwarts, would you play Quidditch? If so, what position would you play?_

For me I would definitely play Quidditch. I'm a little uneasy with heights but I love sports in general and I assume after going to flying classes I'd get used to it enough to overcome the fear. If I were to play I'd probably be a Chaser. I don't really like the limelight so playing the position where I'm working with a couple of my teammates would be ideal (And I'm not anywhere near violent enough to be a Beater).

So, what do you think? Would you play Quidditch? Would you even enjoy watching it or would you find it boring? Let me know in the reviews.


	34. The Gamekeeper's Escape

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The Gryffindors partied hard. Winning the Quidditch Cup would never get old and this year especially the members of Gryffindor House took vindictive pleasure in getting one up on their hated Slytherin rivals and on Umbridge. It only felt just that they would win after she banned their veteran Beaters.

But the celebrations had to come to an end, especially for Harry, Ron and Hermione. Classes finished the very next week and they were given just one week more to fully prepare themselves for their exams.

As they had been reminded at almost every turn the APEs were far more important than any exam they had ever sat before. They studied Hyper Potions, and Quick Balls, and Stat Modifiers and Mega Evolution until they were blue in the face. And then they studied some more.

They looked up everything. Anything they'd been taught, anything that had been even mentioned was fair game for the APEs and it was that that led Harry, Ron and Hermione down to Hagrid's hut.

"The Monster Book of Monsters says Beautifly really like irises," Hermione said, a concentrated expression on her face as she leaned over her copy of said textbook. "But when we were in class you pointed out that they don't like daffodils. Why is that?" Hagrid shrugged.

"Dunno," he said.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked anxiously. "I mean, it must have something to do with the pollen, right? Something to do with the texture?" But Hagrid was shaking his head.

"Sorry Hermione, I can't help yeh with that," he told her sadly.

"But you must know," Hermione insisted, her expression strained. "You must."

"Sorry, but I really don't," Hagrid told her. "We don't know everythin' about Pokémon. We barely know anythin', in my opinion. That's what's so brilliant if yeh ask me. So much to learn, so much to see."

"But," Hermione started.

"Lay off it, Hermione," said Ron. He was lying flat out on his back on Hagrid's bed, Fang the Mightyena lying next to him having thoroughly licked his face clean. "No one knows, okay. They can't ask if even they don't know the answer."

"But I thought you wanted to find out?" Hermione asked, sounding both surprised and disappointed. "You were all for asking Hagrid."

"Anything to get out of the castle," Ron told her, not even bothering to lift his head to look at her. "I'm exhausted. I've done so much studying I can't even think straight."

"Yeh know, I think Ron's got the righ' idea," Hagrid said approvingly. "The lot of yeh are so wound up, yeh could really use a break."

Harry agreed and, like Ron, he had been happy to come visit Hagrid for precisely that reason. It was late, the sky was starting to get dark outside, and they couldn't stay for long. Still, it was peaceful in Hagrid's cabin. The fire crackled merrily, warming up the whole place, and Harry felt himself relax as he sat at Hagrid's table, absentmindedly stroking Norbert's thick outer shell. All was quiet.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Now who would tha' be?" Hagrid wondered, standing up from his place by the fire. "Are yeh expecting anyone?" Harry shook his head.

Hagrid straightened up and walked towards the door as whoever was on the other side knocked again, clearly impatient. Hagrid frowned and pulled the door open.

"Professor?" Hagrid sounded surprised, and not pleasantly so. "What are yeh doing here? Who are this lot?" Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a worried look.

"Please, Mr Hagrid, this is no time for questions," Professor Umbridge's voice spoke. "These men are here from the Ministry, and as for why I'm here that would be important Ministry business, Mr Hagrid."

That did not sound good. Standing up, not knowing what good it would do but not wanting to leave Hagrid standing there alone, Harry walked up next to him.

They had good reason to be worried. Professor Umbridge, short and squat, was accompanied by half a dozen men in very familiar uniforms, with Kingsley Shacklebolt and Auror Dawlish at the front.

"Potter?!" Umbridge gasped. "Just what are you doing here?"

"We had a question for Professor Hagrid," Harry replied evenly. Ron and Hermione had appeared behind him, looking worried.

"Detention, Mr Potter," Umbridge snapped. "You should not be here."

"Now, hang on," Hagrid interjected. "What's wrong with 'em being here? It's not even curfew yet." Umbridge gave Hagrid a cold look.

"It soon will be," she said icily. "Potter, Granger, Weasley, up to the castle now."

"Hang on," Ron interjected. "Aren't you at least going to tell us what's going on?" Umbridge pursed her lips and glared, before straightening up.

"Very well, then," she said, turning back to Hagrid. "Rubeus Hagrid, you are under arrest for wilfully aiding the fugitive Albus Dumbledore. You will accompany these aurors to the Ministry where you will be kept in a holding cell until arrangements can be made to transport you to Azkaban."

"What?!" Ron spluttered. Hermione gasped. Hagrid went pale. "You can't be serious."

"Why not, Mr Weasley?" Umbridge asked superiorly.

"You can't do this," Hermione told her. "Hagrid hasn't done anything. You have no proof."

"Proof enough to bring him in for questioning," Umbridge interrupted. "Mr Dawlish, if you please." Auror Dawlish stepped forward, a pair of handcuffs in his hands.

"No!" Harry shouted and he pushed himself out in front of Hagrid, glaring at the auror. Dawlish stopped.

"Get out of the way, Mr Potter," Umbridge said shrilly. "Unless you want to be seen as aiding a criminal."

"You can't arrest Hagrid," Harry denied. "I won't let you." A large hand fell on his shoulder and Harry looked up at Hagrid's bushily bearded face.

"It's alright, Harry," he said softly before turning his attention to Dawlish. "I'll come quietly," he announced. "Just leave the kids out of it."

"Hagrid, no," Hermione moaned. He couldn't leave.

Hagrid sighed. "Don't worry about me," he told them. "I'll be fine. Now, you lot study hard. Focus on yer exams, not me, alright." And he stepped out from behind Harry and walked into the chilly night air.

"Alright, let's get on with it," he said loudly. The aurors moved to surround him, standing in formation, and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute," Umbridge stopped them short. "The handcuffs, Mr Dawlish." The aurors shared a look.

"Ma'am," Kingsley said, his voice smooth despite the obvious tension. "He's coming quietly, there's no need…"

"Handcuffs, Mr Dawlish," Umbridge repeated, ignoring Kingsley's words. Dawlish hesitated for a brief moment before he walked forward. Hagrid held out his wrists, lip trembling.

"Shelgon!"

Just as Auror Dawlish clicked the handcuffs into place Norbert appeared in the doorway and charged past a startled Harry, Ron and Hermione to slam straight into Dawlish's chest. As one the other five aurors, including Kingsley, let out their Pokémon.

"Don't hurt him!" Hagrid cried, rushing forward faster than any of the five Machamp that had appeared to stand protectively over Shelgon. "Don't hurt 'im!"

"Restrain him!" Umbridge commanded and one of the Machamp moved forward to do just that. Hermione shrieked as the Machamp smacked Hagrid over the back of the head and he crumpled to the ground.

"You bastards!" Ron cried out in outrage, even reaching for the Pokéballs on his belt. "You dirty, lousy -"

"Ron!" Hermione cried out. She needn't have bothered as Ron fell silent the moment he spotted what she had seen.

Norbert was glowing. He was letting out grunts and huffs, stamping his feet angrily against the ground and as he did so the light grew brighter. Soon it completely obscured his form and he started to grow larger and larger, the aurors and their Machamp backing away with worried expressions as Norbert just continued to grow. Four feet extended to the ground below, two enormous wings spread out on either side, and Norbert roared as the light burst and he stood there, his head towering high above them, his eyes narrowed.

"Look out!" One of the aurors shouted and it was a good thing they did for a moment later fire sprang from Norbert's mouth, the newly evolved Salamence burning the ground where the aurors stood with hateful vengeance. The Machamp tried to fight back, throwing themselves forward in an attempt to subdue the enormous dragon type Pokémon, but Norbert shrugged them off with ease.

Stopping his attacks briefly, Norbert bent down to Hagrid's prone form at his feet and in a moment lifted him from the ground and tossed him onto his back. Norbert roared again, another blast of fire burning at the Machamp that dared to come too close, before he lifted himself into the air with one flap of his powerful wings and flew off towards the castle gates.

A loud barking sounded and Ron nearly fell over as Fang shot past him and out the door, haring after Hagrid. One of the Machamp spotted him, however, and launched himself forward, pinning the Mightyena to the ground with the strength of his many arms.

Harry could not stand by and let Fang suffer. "Charizard, go!"

Harry's starter Pokémon emerged before Fang and the Machamp holding him automatically released his grip in the face of the much bigger threat. Fang, seeing his opportunity, sprinted off, following after his trainer's unresponsive form atop the mighty Salamence, and soon he disappeared into the darkness.

"Potter." Umbridge was furious, her face white. She held up a finger, pointing it accusingly even though no words would come. Then she snapped. "Aurors, arrest him!"

"What?!" Ron gaped. The aurors, too, did not look too sure. They shared glances before Kingsley stepped forward.

"Ma'am, we do not have the authority to arrest a minor," he said simply.

"Then confiscate his Pokémon," Umbridge snapped, glaring at Charizard. It was quite a sight to see, the short, squat Professor Umbridge, dressed all in pink, glaring up at the large, fierce looking fire and flying type. Again the aurors hesitated.

"We also do not have the authority to separate a Pokémon from its trainer," Kingsley informed her. "Not unless the Pokémon has shown clear signs of dangerous and/or aggressive behaviour. Charizard has done neither, yet." Harry got the message.

"Charizard, return." The aurors and their Machamp noticeably relaxed once Charizard was returned to his Pokéball. Umbridge did not look amused.

"Dawlish?" She snapped, turning to the auror. Dawlish took his time to respond.

"Auror Shacklebolt is correct," he replied, his tone of voice giving no indication as to whether he was happy about this or not. "We have no grounds to discipline Mr Potter in any way." That was not what Umbridge wanted to hear.

"Fine," she said angrily. "I suppose I'll just have to take this up with the Minister myself. You can leave, there is no reason for you to be here any longer." And she marched away, up to the castle.

"You should be returning to the castle, too," Kingsley told them, his voice even. "It is late."

"We will, sir," Hermione answered breathlessly. "We just need to get our stuff first." Kingsley nodded.

"Then be quick," he told them. "We must search Mr Hagrid's cabin for any information that may lead to his whereabouts, or those of Albus Dumbledore." It was as clear of a hint as you could get and Harry, Ron and Hermione hurried inside, closing the door behind them.

"Bloody hell," Ron swore. "What on earth…?"

"Not now," Harry hissed. "We can talk up at the castle." He moved further into the cabin and as he did so a soft scuttling sound could be heard from the corner.

"Oh, Aragog," Hermione moaned. "I'm so sorry." But this wasn't the time.

"Hermione, you take Aragog," Harry instructed, throwing over the Ariados's Pokéball. The other two Pokéballs for Fang and Norbert quickly found their way into Harry's bag.

They were packed up just in time as, no sooner had Hermione returned Aragog and attached his Pokéball to her belt, the door opened.

They left without comment, bags hoisted over their shoulders and silently praying that nobody would stop them. They didn't and they were able to make it to the Entrance Hall, the journey seeming to take longer than normal, before stopping to plan their next move.

That led them straight to Professor McGonagall's office.

The stern Physiology Professor did not speak as they told her their tale, her eyes boring into them with an unreadable expression until they were finished, silencing falling upon the room. McGonagall took a moment to reply.

"Thank you for telling me this," she said eventually. "The story you have just told me is … deeply troubling. I must make arrangements."

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked.

"Well, Mr Potter, first order of business is to find a qualified instructor capable of overseeing the Pokémon Care examinations," Professor McGonagall told him. "Fortunately I know precisely the person we need. Wilhelmina hasn't taught for a while but I am sure she'd agree to help out on a short term basis as a favour to an old friend."

"On the other hand getting Professor Hagrid out of trouble won't be so easy," she admitted. "I'll be making an official complaint to the Ministry about the appalling manner in which this arrest has been carried out. But in the meantime the best course of action is for Hagrid to remain on the run. At least it seems he has some strong allies to support him." That was a relief.

"And for you Mr Potter, Mr Weasley and Ms Granger, you should all focus on keeping your heads down. There are only a couple of weeks left before the end of term. Do not antagonise Delores Umbridge into doing something we'll all regret."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed.

To Aoi Usa: I promise Angelina was taking the game very seriously. The problem is that Ravenclaw were too and they are a very good team while Gryffindor were essentially playing with a man down. Angelina wasn't having a go at Harry because she was trying to blame in, she was having a go at him to fire him up since she knew that he was their only hope of winning.

To PhoenixLordess: Don't worry, your review wasn't too harsh at all. I simply wanted to make my thoughts on Meganium clear so everyone knew I wasn't hating on the Pokémon.

To WarsOfShadows: First the thing about Daphne is that Harry kissed her, not the other way around. Of course Daphne could have pushed him away but the truth is she was caught by surprise and, despite what she says, she didn't exactly object to the kiss. She does like Harry, just not like that. What's more she's very confused with her feelings for Seamus considering that everything she knew about him beforehand seems contradictory to her liking him. That's why she reacted so violently when Harry tried to talk to her.

As for Dumbledore the truth (which I haven't explicitly stated) is that he was looking for an excuse to leave. His ability to resist Voldemort is really hampered while he is stuck under Umbridge's watch so he took advantage of the opportunity to free himself to do more, whilst also covering for Marietta (as he does truly care for her). Knowing what we know of how things went down at the end of Harry's fifth year that doesn't seem smart but Dumbledore has no reason to believe there is any danger to Harry at Hogwarts, especially since Harry doesn't have any mental connection to Voldemort to be wary about.

I hope that has cleared up any questions any of you have had but if there is anything else please let me know.

Thanks to those who answered the question of the day from the last chapter. It seems like there is a general interest in Quidditch (with a few people saying they'd play Keeper) but many of you seem to have the same problem with heights as I have.

You've also given me some more interesting potential questions of the day but again I'm going to go for something a lot more in line with this chapter.

 _QOTD: What is your favourite Dragon type Pokémon?_

For me it is Garchomp. It is such a ferocious looking Pokémon, it is just incredible.

So what do you think? Who is your favourite Dragon type? Let me know in the reviews.


	35. Average Pokémon Examinations

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

As it turned out avoiding Umbridge wasn't nearly as difficult as it sounded. With exams on the horizon and revision a must Harry, Ron and Hermione barely saw Delores Umbridge except at meal times, where avoiding the foul woman's gaze was easy.

As such the drama around Hagrid's escape was barely noticeable, other than his obvious lack of presence at the staff table, and the week of exams arrived without a single confrontation.

The Monday exams were due to start arrived in a midst of stress and nerves. Harry did not feel like he was ready, neither did anyone else it seemed, and even Fred and George, sitting their SPAs - Specialist Pokémon Assessments - were quiet at breakfast.

For the APE students, however, the first exam that morning was Pokémon Physiology and, as predicted, it was extremely difficult. Sat in the Great Hall for three hours straight Harry wracked his brain as the paper become more and more challenging the longer he worked, asking questions with such depth of detail that Harry found himself on more than one occasion shaking his head in despair.

After lunch they were faced with another exam, this one for Pokémon Statistics, which was much easier in comparison to Physiology, before they had their first practical examination, this one for Fortune Telling.

Harry had never been great at this particular subject, struggling to make the connections that Professor Trelawney had always found obvious, and his nerves ran wild as he attempted to tell the examiner his future, the man remaining blank faced even as he made notes on Harry's performance.

Needless to say he was glad when that exam was over.

As the week went on the fifth years staggered through their exams, sitting written papers in Potions and Herbology, and then practicals in those two as well, being tested with brewing a Hyper Potion in Potions and planting berries in Herbology. But Harry's favourite exam came on the Wednesday - Pokémon Battling.

In the morning they had sat a written test, one which Harry felt quite comfortable with, while in the afternoon it was the turn of the practical. Out on the front lawn students were paired up with an examiner each and instructed to pick three Pokémon to participate in one on one battles.

Harry legitimately forgot he was being examined as he directed Charizard, Talonflame and Pikachu in battle. He hadn't had the chance to experience a proper battle since the DA had been shut down and his Pokémon, too, seemed to revel in the opportunity to push themselves, leaving the poor baldheaded examiner facing Harry rather flustered as one by one his Pokémon fell.

The last morning of exams found the fifth years back out on the grounds and down by Hagrid's hut. It was the first time Harry, Ron and Hermione had been back there since Hagrid had been forced to flee and it left them all with a bad taste in their mouths.

The exam itself was fairly straightforward. There were a number of Pokémon on display and they were each given challenges. For Harry he had to coax a Shuckle out of its shell, which he managed with the temptation of berry juice, and to calm an angry Tauros. This second task was much harder, and required much more care, but Harry felt like he'd done a good job with it as he cheerfully walked back up the lawn with Ron and Hermione.

"Man, this feels good," Ron groaned as he stretched, closing his eyes and savouring the warmth of the sun on his face. "I know I probably messed most of it up but I'm just so glad it's all over." Hermione looked taken aback.

"What do you mean?" She asked. "We're not finished yet, we've still got History of Pokémon." Ron rolled his eyes.

"Like that matters," he said. "I'm not gonna bother taking it next year, I'll probably just fail it."

"You certainly will with an attitude like that," Hermione snapped.

"I don't get why you think I'll do much better by trying," Ron told her. "You're the only one who's ever done well in Binns's exams. Even Bill only got an acceptable in his History APE and he made Head Boy. He was like a Percy before Percy, except with a sense of humour, of course."

They'd reached the castle doors and walked into the Great Hall for lunch, taking the first seats available at the Gryffindor table.

"Anyway, what did you think of that Grubbly-Plank woman?" Ron asked, changing the subject.

Professor Grubbly-Plank, or Wilhelmina as Professor McGonagall had called her, had been present for the Pokémon Care exam. The older woman had not interfered, leaving the examining to the external examiners, but had kept a sharp eye over everything. It was easy to see how she and McGonagall were friends.

"I think she was alright," Hermione said. "Professor McGonagall hired her so she must be good. I just don't think we've seen enough to really judge."

And hopefully they never would. She was just filling in just now but if she were to continue on in the post of Pokémon Care Professor then that would mean that Hagrid still wouldn't have returned.

"What's going on?"

Harry looked up. Ron, who had posed the question, was looking around the hall with a frown on his face. Harry looked around too and started to get a feeling that something was just… off.

"Everyone seems very preoccupied," Hermione commented, though she looked confused.

That was one way of putting it, Harry supposed. While it was usual for meal times to get more active towards the end of exams, when the student body started to sense their soon to be found freedom, the behaviour of the students suggested something else was happening. They were whispering with one another, their faces alert and excited.

"What's going on?" Ron repeated.

"You haven't heard?" It was Neville who had responded, looking just as excited as the rest of the hall, his face flushed in delight. "It was in the morning's Prophet. They've caught Black." Harry froze.

"What?" He snapped.

Neville looked taken aback. "Sirius Black," he explained, looking confused. "The Death Eater. The Ministry caught him."

"You're kidding," Ron said.

"No," Neville replied as though wondering why anyone would kid about that. "It was in the Daily Prophet."

By now Hermione had gone rummaging in her bag and within moments she had retrieved her own copy of the Daily Prophet which she'd stuffed away without reading that morning, unfolding it to reveal the front page.

"There, you see," Neville said, pointing to the headline. It read, in tall block capitals, 'BLACK CAPTURED', underneath which was a very recent picture of Sirius, sat in a cell.

"They say he hasn't told them anything yet," Neville continued excitedly as Hermione read the article. "But they're hopeful he can lead them straight to the other escaped Death Eaters."

"I doubt it," Ron said with a troubled expression. "Sirius doesn't know where they are."

"Sirius?" Neville questioned. "I don't understand. Harry, what's going on?" But Harry didn't answer.

"We've got to do something," he said swiftly, focusing on Ron and Hermione. "You know what the Ministry will do when he won't be able to tell them anything."

"But, mate, what?" Ron asked. "We're up here and he's locked away in the Ministry, in London. Not to mention I reckon people might notice if we somehow don't turn up for our next exam."

"But we've got to do something, who cares about exams," Harry said roughly. "What will an exam matter if Sirius -"

"Harry, stop," Hermione said firmly and he held his tongue. "There's nothing we can do except leave it to Dumbledore. You know he'll be working on a way to get Sirius out." She paused. "Anyway, lets get out of here. This is not the place to be having this discussion." Harry agreed, only just reminding himself that he was surrounded by hundreds of students, nearly all of whom believed Sirius to be guilty, including a thoroughly confused looking Neville.

They got up from the table, Ron grabbing a few things as they'd barely eaten since sitting down, and headed for the doors to the Great Hall, Neville uncertainly following after them.

They came to a stop in the doorway.

"Ah, Mr Potter." Delores Umbridge stood before them, looking incredibly pleased. "Finished with lunch already?"

"Yes," Harry ground out.

"I believe you mean, 'yes, Professor Umbridge'," Umbridge replied with a sickly sweet smile.

"Yes, Professor Umbridge," Harry intoned through gritted teeth. He did not have the patience to deal with her right now. He tried to walk away.

"I take it you've seen the news, Mr Potter," Professor Umbridge called, pulling him to a stop. "Now that the dangerous Sirius Black has been captured it'll just be a matter of time before he admits to having freed his former friends. When that happens, Mr Potter, your lies will be well and truly put to bed, and the Ministry will stand proud, defenders of the Pokémon world."

Needless to say the History of Pokémon exam was pure torture. Harry could not focus, his already scarce history knowledge hidden beneath the pictures that flowed through his mind of Sirius, locked up in his cell. His mind wandered horribly as time ticked down and he even began picturing Sirius being tried and found guilty, being pushed through the veil, which to his mind resembled some sort of terrifying black hole, hungry and empty.

Once time had run out and they were eventually allowed to leave Harry could not wait any longer.

"We have to do something," he told Hermione and Ron in the Entrance Hall, even as the rest of their year disappeared off towards their respective common rooms. "We can't just sit back and wait while Sirius is in danger. You just know that if the situation was reversed he would be doing everything in his power to help us."

"But what can we do?" Ron asked. "I want to help, mate, but we're just kids. And what if we do something and we get in the way of some Legion rescue mission?"

"Ron's right," Hermione said. "I say we go speak to Professor McGonagall. She's a Legion member. If there is a rescue mission planned then she'll know, for sure."

"And she can tell us how it's going," Ron added. "If the Legion can rescue Sirius without our help then there's no point us trying anything anyway."

Their plan had only one minor flaw.

"It's locked," Harry said, pushing at the door to McGonagall's office.

"I can pick the lock," Ron suggested.

"There's no point," Hermione told him. "If Professor McGonagall was in there she would have answered when we knocked."

"Do you reckon she might be in Dumbledore's office?"

"I suppose, but she hasn't been using it."

"Even though she's headmistress?"

"Excuse me," a cold, sneering voice put an abrupt end to their discussion. "Just what do you think you are doing?" Professor Snape stood before them, his face blank and his eyes cold.

"We're looking for Professor McGonagall," Hermione said quickly, stepping forward. Snape surveyed her coolly.

"The Headmistress is not here," he told her, his voice sharp. "She has travelled down to London to secure the freedom of Professor Hagrid."

"She's gone," Harry gasped. His heart plummeted.

"Yes, Potter, she's gone," Snape said impatiently. "Now if you'd kindly get out of the way I have need of her office." He strode purposefully forward and Harry, Ron and Hermione automatically stepped aside as he produced a key from his pocket and unlocked McGonagall's office door.

"Now if there is nothing else I'd advise you to prepare for dinner," Snape said coldly and he moved to shut the door behind him.

"Wait, Professor Snape," Harry said hurriedly. Snape paused. "Please, sir, we need your help." Snape's expression remained impassive.

"I assume this has to do with the news about Sirius Black," Snape said, his lips turning up in a sneer. Harry nodded.

"Please, sir, we need to know what's happening," he told him desperately. "You're a member of the Legion, you must know if there are plans to get him out. Please, tell me." Snape paused for the longest of moments.

"That," he said eventually, "is none of your concern. Good day, Potter." And the door snapped shut.

Harry, Ron and Hermione did not move.

"So?" Ron asked, turning with apprehension to Harry and Hermione. "What do we do now?" Hermione sighed.

"Come on," she said, gesturing them away from McGonagall's office door. "There's no use hanging around here."

A few seconds later she began to speak once more.

"I think there is a rescue plan," she told them seriously as they wandered along the corridor. "It just makes sense. Dumbledore would never leave Sirius in danger."

"Right, plus I reckon Snape isn't as clued in as he pretends he is," Ron agreed. "It'd be just like him to mess with us. And McGonagall's in London already."

"Probably to give her an alibi," Hermione reasoned. "Everyone knows she's close to Dumbledore but there's no way the blame can be pinned on her when Sirius escapes if she's with Ministry officials at the time. That's how Professor Lupin avoided suspicion two years ago."

But Harry was shaking his head. He came to a stop by a window, the setting sun shining its warm glow on his face.

"I'm going to London," he said, his voice steady. He'd made up his mind. "I'm going down to London and I'll get Sirius out of there. I'll fly down on Charizard. It should be night by the time we get there."

"But Harry," Hermione complained but he continued to shake his head. Raising a hand he pointed down the corridor and Hermione and Ron turned to look.

Absol stood before them, as silent and majestic as ever as the orange glow of the sun tinged his snow white fur and gleamed off his vivid red eyes. One year ago, almost to the day, Absol had shown himself and Cedric Diggory had died. Harry could not let Sirius be next.

"Alright," Ron said, letting out a shaky breath. "Okay, what now? Harry's got Charizard and I suppose I've got Pig. What about you, Hermione?"

"Noctowl won't take my weight," she responded. "Maybe I can borrow from somebody."

"What are you talking about?" Harry wondered aloud. Ron and Hermione turned to him.

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" Ron said. "We're going to London to rescue Sirius, right?"

"But?"

"You didn't seriously expect us to let you go alone, Harry?" Hermione wondered, arching an eyebrow. "After five years I'd have thought you'd have learned."

"Wherever you go, we go," Ron told him.

"But it'll be dangerous," Harry protested. Ron laughed.

"Always has been, mate," he grinned. "That's why we're not letting you go alone."

"We're stronger together, Harry," Hermione said firmly.

"Besides, mum'll kill me if you die and I wasn't there with you."

"Ron!" Hermione hit him. Harry smiled.

"Alright," he said and Ron and Hermione immediately dropped their fight. "We'll all go. And I've got an idea. Follow me."

Absol was long gone as Harry led Ron and Hermione through the corridors, having disappeared while they were talking, and Harry quickly put the mysterious dark type out of his mind as he headed upwards towards the Gryffindor Common Room. They came across many of their housemates coming the other way, heading down for dinner, as they went but they did not stop to chat, heading straight into the common room and up to Harry and Ron's dormitory.

"Harry?" Neville was there, alone and sitting on his bed, but Harry ignored him as he went straight for his trunk. Neville stood up. "What's going on?"

"I've got something in here I need," Harry answered, not completely conscious of the fact that it was Neville that had asked. "I know it's in here somewhere… aha!" He pulled it free triumphantly.

"Harry?" Neville questioned but Harry just slipped the item into his pocket and quickly flipped the lid of his trunk closed before straightening up. "Harry, you've got me worried."

And as Harry, Ron and Hermione hurried out of the dormitory, ignoring Neville's questions, Neville follow after.

"You're about to do something dangerous, aren't you?" Neville accused as he followed them out of the common room and down the corridor. "It's got something to do with Sirius Black, doesn't it. What's going on?"

"You don't need to know, Neville," Ron waved him off. "Back off, alright, this doesn't concern you."

"If it concerns you it concerns me," Neville countered. "If you're going to do something dangerous then at least tell me so I can help."

"What's going on?" Ginny, accompanied by Luna Lovegood, had appeared into view at the end of the corridor and was watching with apprehension as Harry, Ron and Hermione swept past them.

"They're about to do something dangerous," Neville told her.

"Shut up, Neville," Ron growled. But Ginny's attention had been caught.

"Is it about Sirius?" Ginny asked. "It is, isn't it? It's got to be. You're going to try and rescue him."

"Why are you rescuing him?" Neville wondered, confused. They had walked straight past Ginny and Luna but, like Neville, they had merely fallen right into step behind them.

"He's innocent, Neville," Ginny explained. "He was never a Death Eater, he was framed."

"Are we talking about Stubby Boardman?"

"Yes Luna…"

"But the LeStranges…"

"They're cousins, him and Bellatrix, but he's really the black sheep of the family."

"So does that mean…"

"Shut up!" Harry roared. Everyone fell silent. Harry himself did not speak for a while, panting heavily both from his outburst and from the brisk march that had led him all the way down to the top of the grand marble staircase. As an afterthought he looked around, glad no one seemed to have heard his outburst, and continued in a lower tone.

"Okay, yes, it's all true," he admitted. "Sirius is innocent. He was framed by Peter Pettigrew. We almost caught him a couple of years ago but he escaped and then helped bring Voldemort back. And yes, we're going down to London to rescue him." Ginny knew all this already. Luna acted as though she did. Neville looked shocked.

"Anyway, don't tell anyone," Harry warned, beginning the descent of the marble staircase. "We won't be able to get Sirius out if the Ministry know we're coming."

"Of course we won't say anything," Ginny told him as if the idea was ludicrous. "We're coming with you." Harry blinked.

"Oh no you're not," Ron told her, recovering first. "You really think we're going to let you come along?"

"Why not?" Ginny retorted.

"Because it's too dangerous," Ron insisted.

"Not too dangerous for you," Ginny fired back.

"That's different. We're used to this," Ron told her exasperatedly. "We've been doing this for years."

"No, Harry's been doing this for years," Ginny challenged. "You and Hermione were in the stands last year just like the rest of us. If you two are going then there's no reason why we shouldn't."

"We can help," Neville promised. "You taught us so much with the DA."

"And you know what they say," Luna added serenely. "Six heads are better than three."

"I don't think that's precisely the saying," Hermione mumbled, looking put out. "And it's besides the point."

"Yeah," Ron agreed.

"So you don't think we can help?"

"Well, I certainly don't," a new voice spoke. "But then I don't have much faith in Gryffindors. They're always such a disappointment." Harry whipped round.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading. I hope you've enjoyed.

To yoruichi14: I assume you posted a Pokémon Go friend code? I don't play Pokémon Go. Sorry.

To Sparkpikachu: Thanks for the kind words. As to your question I haven't said what Pokémon Umbridge has, you say it yourself that she uses other people to do her dirty work for her. However I do have a Pokémon in mind. She has a Skitty.

Thanks to everyone who answered the question of the day last chapter. We had several great answers for favourite dragon type Pokémon, and Norbert will be happy to see Salamence showing up there. Others mentioned were Dragonite, Altaria, Dragonair, Flygon and Dialga, all fantastic Pokémon. There are so many great dragon type Pokémon and some that haven't been mentioned that I want to give credit to are my own favourite, Garchomp, as well as Haxorus, Noivern, Latias and Latios, and Rayquaza.

For this chapter's question of the day I'm going to take a hint from the reviews.

 _QOTD: Do you play Pokémon Go?_

Personally, I don't. I played it when it first came out and really enjoyed it but then I lost my account and I didn't want to commit to starting all over again and letting it dominate my life so I decided I'd had my fun with it. I know it's come a long way since I stopped playing but I'm satisfied with my enjoyment of it for the time being.

So, do you play Pokémon Go? Are there any specific Pokémon you really want to catch/hatch but haven't been able to so far? Let me know in the reviews.


	36. A Deal With The Devil

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was standing by the wall, his figure half concealed by shadow as he lurked just out of sight, a broad smirk on his face.

"What do you want?" Harry asked harshly. Blood pounded in his ears. How much had Malfoy heard?

A lot, judging by the pleased look on the blond boy's face. He pushed himself away from the wall and sauntered towards them.

"Nothing at all, Potter," Malfoy said smoothly, confident smirk still on his face. "I was just enjoying some peace and quiet… before you came bumbling along."

"Really?" Harry asked doubtfully.

"Really," replied Malfoy. He smiled. "Though given what I've heard I may actually have a proposition for you." Harry tensed.

"And what's that?" He asked sharply. Suspicion set in immediately. What was Malfoy up to?

"You are wanting to save Black," Malfoy said calmly. "Don't try to deny it, I already know. He's no Death Eater and I imagine your bleeding heart couldn't help itself. It's none of my business really."

"So leave me alone," Harry said forcefully. But would that be enough? Could he trust Malfoy to keep quiet or would he have to… deal with him?

Malfoy smirked. "I would, Potter, I really would," he drawled. "But it just so happens that I want Sirius Black free too."

"Liar," Ron spat. Malfoy looked at him in distaste.

"Really, Weasley, manners," he said derisively. He turned back to Harry. "You may doubt my motives but you should know that my mother was a Black. As her cousin Sirius is, to me, family, and I'm more than willing to lend my assistance to keep him safe."

"So you'll keep quiet then?" Harry asked. "You won't tell anyone?" Malfoy smirked.

"I'll do you one better," he told him. "I'll join your quest."

There was stunned silence.

"And why would I want that?" Harry challenged, recovering first. What was Malfoy trying here?

"I have a lot to bring to a rescue mission, Potter," Malfoy informed him. "Much more than any of your weak little friends. For example, do any of you even know where the Ministry holding cells are?" There was uncomfortable silence. Malfoy smirked. "Thought not."

Harry was thinking hard. He did not trust Malfoy, never had, and he wasn't even sure if Malfoy himself knew where the holding cells were. He glanced at Ron.

"He's right," Ron admitted, looking incredibly displeased. "I've only ever seen dad's office. The Auror office is on the same floor but I've never seen any cells."

"Naturally," Malfoy drawled. "It's not as though they want their prisoners to be easy to find." Ron grit his teeth.

"So where are the cells?" Harry asked. "Why don't you just tell me and I'll go. That way you can stay out of it. I doubt your father would be pleased if you were caught trying to free a convicted felon."

"No, I imagine he wouldn't be," Malfoy commented idly. "And I would not dream of accompanying you if I wasn't certain that you'd get hopelessly lost without me. Unlike you Gryffindors I think things through."

Harry considered him. Malfoy was up to something, that much was certain, but perhaps it would be better to take him along, if for no other reason than to keep an eye on him.

"Alright," Harry said finally. "You can come." A broad smile spread across Malfoy's face and immediately Harry was starting to regret his decision.

"Perfect," Malfoy drawled. "Now, my plan is simple. If we leave now we should arrive in London after most of the Ministry have already left. Potter and I can take his Charizard down, rescue Black, and return while the rest of you provide cover."

"No way," Ron said forcefully. "Not happening."

"Ron and Hermione are coming," Harry said simply.

"And us," Ginny added, turning to face Harry with a challenging stare. Harry considered her.

"And them," he agreed. The more eyes watching Malfoy the better. Harry didn't trust him one bit.

Malfoy looked disgruntled. "Fine," he said sullenly. "And I suppose you have a plan to get all seven of us down to London?"

"Actually, I do," Harry told him. "Follow me."

Harry led them out the castle doors, glancing furtively into the Great Hall where the rest of the student body sat, enjoying dinner. He only had a quick glance as he passed but Delores Umbridge, dressed all in pink, was easily noticeable. He did not see Snape.

Once out the front doors Harry quickly led the group over to the forest, the seven of them skirting the line of the trees before eventually starting to move further in, following a path only Harry recognised. It led them deep into the forest, far past any point the younger years were allowed to go, before Harry brought them to a stop.

"So what now, Potter?" Malfoy said scornfully, though his eyes surveyed the surrounding trees with caution. "Are we waiting for some magic portal that'll lead us to the Ministry? I hate to point out that this is real life, not fantasy."

Harry tuned Malfoy out. He knew he was in the right spot. He pulled out the item he'd rescued from his trunk and held it up delicately in his fingers.

"What have you got there, Harry?" Luna asked serenely. "A summoning stick?"

"Sort of," Harry muttered. It was a surprisingly accurate description. "This is a white flute," he explained, showing them the beautifully crafted instrument. "Hagrid got it for me on my first Christmas at Hogwarts. I've never used it before but it's supposed to attract wild Pokémon."

"And what sort of Pokémon are you hoping to attract?" Hermione asked nervously as Harry raised the flute to his lips. Harry did not answer. Instead he started to play.

The melody that was produced by the fragile instrument pressed to Harry's lips was surprisingly pleasant given that Harry had no experience playing. Yet as he switched between notes at random it did not sound rough or disjointed. It sounded peaceful.

A rustle was heard in the trees and Harry instinctively stopped playing. He knew there was no telling which Pokémon had responded to his call but he hoped that this was the one he needed.

Further rustles sounded and the group turned on the spot as it seemed to be coming from all around them. The seven students started to gravitate towards each other, looking out in every direction for the beast that stalked them, while Harry turned his face to the canopy above.

Right on cue the Pokémon showed itself, soaring down from above and landing roughly on the forest floor mere feet in front of them, causing the group to jump back in surprise.

Hermione's mouth fell open. She was standing at the front of the group, and Harry knew it was no accident. She stumbled forward, as though in some sort of trance, stopping within arms reach of the Pokémon but not moving to touch it.

"Flygon."

The Flygon nodded its head, letting out a low guttural sound from the back of its throat. Hermione looked back to Harry.

"Is he…?"

Harry nodded.

"Hagrid and I found him after the match against Hufflepuff," Harry explained, watching as Hermione turned back to Flygon with wonder in her eyes. "I wasn't sure whether to tell you or not. Then things started happening - the DA, Quidditch, exams - and I never really got the chance."

"A lot must have happened since last year," Ron commented, eyeing up Flygon with an impressed look.

"Yeah," Hermione murmured. "I wondered whether he'd even remember me." She let out a small laugh as Flygon crooned, nudging his head into her hand and looking up with adoring eyes. Harry and Ron smiled.

"Excuse me for interrupting," Malfoy spoke up rudely. "But am I the only one here who has no idea what is happening?" Harry supposed he was. Both Ginny and Neville had known Flygon as a Trapinch before he'd left and Luna never seemed to be surprised by anything.

"When Flygon was a Trapinch Hermione looked after him," Harry explained. "Once he was all better he was released into the forest. That was just over a year ago." Harry turned to Hermione. "I was thinking that Flygon might be able to help us get down to London." Hermione nodded.

"Well, Flygon?" She said, the ground and dragon type turning to face her. "Will you help us?" Flygon let out a low croon and nodded his head.

Now that that was decided Harry switched back into gear.

"Okay, so, this'll be tough but I think between Charizard, Pig and Flygon we should be able to get everyone down to London." He turned to Neville, Ginny and Luna. "None of you have Pokémon to fly on, do you?" They all shook their heads.

"Well, I think the three girls should ride together," Hermione suggested. "To try and even out the weight."

"Ginny's coming with me," Ron said firmly, leaving no room for argument. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Fine then," she sighed. "I suppose we'll take Pig."

"In that case I propose I travel with Granger," Malfoy suggested smoothly.

"Not a chance," Harry interjected before either Hermione or Ron could protest. "You and me are riding Charizard." Malfoy looked disgruntled.

Within a few moments Charizard and Pig had been released from their Pokéballs and the seven students began the process of mounting their respective rides, Harry and Malfoy on Charizard, Ron and Ginny on Pig, and Hermione, Neville and Luna on Flygon.

"Hold on a second," Hermione said suddenly, sliding down from Flygon's back as Neville and Luna made themselves comfortable behind her. "Misdreavus, come on out."

Harry paused as he finished pushing a reluctant Malfoy onto Charizard's back, Ron and Ginny both mounted and ready to go, as Hermione dug into her bag. Out of the seven of them she was the only one to have taken her bag this far.

"I've got something in here that I think will help us," Hermione said and she pulled it out, holding it aloft. "A dusk stone."

"The stone to evolve Misdreavus," Harry realised, his eyes lighting up. "Where did you get it?"

"I found it a while ago, in the forest," Hermione explained. "I didn't use it because I wanted Misdreavus to evolve at her own pace, but now..." Hermione turned to her Pokémon. "You don't have to do this," she promised. "But the extra power of your evolved form could come in useful. Will you?"

Hermione held out the Dusk Stone in her open palm and waited. Misdreavus looked at stone curiously for a moment, then touched it.

The evolution was very anticlimactic. In the past all Pokémon Harry had seen evolve came as a surprise, most often in the heat of battle. Without that, knowing an evolution was going to take place, it seemed to pass in just a moment.

"Lets go," Harry said into the silence. Hermione nodded, returning Mismagius and climbing back atop Flygon, Neville awkwardly wrapping his arms around her middle, Luna looking far more comfortable behind him.

"Leave the bag," Harry instructed as he climbed atop Charizard and noticed Hermione still awkwardly clutching it. "We can come back for it later." Hermione dropped the bag to the forest floor. "On the count of three. One, two, three."

As one Charizard, Pig and Flygon flew upwards and their riders were forced to brace themselves as they flew through the canopy overhead and emerged into the bright light of the slowly setting sun.

"Head south, Charizard," Harry instructed his Pokémon and Charizard let out a soft roar of confirmation before wheeling around in mid-air and soaring towards the boundary of Hogwarts, Pig and Flygon following his lead.

Meanwhile, Harry addressed Malfoy.

"I know you're up to something," he told him in a low voice, only just audible over the wind. "I don't know what it is but I swear if you try anything I'll have Charizard toss you off."

"And you wonder why I wanted to fly with Granger instead," Malfoy commented but he fell quiet after that. Evidently he'd got the message.

The boundary wall was approaching.

"Harry!" Flygon pulled up beside Charizard, Hermione shouting over. "Harry, the mail workers!"

She was right to remind him. Looking down Harry was able to spot the Ministry workers far below, though they hadn't seen them yet. That was bound to change.

"We can't let them see us," Harry called back. "We can't have them reporting back to Umbridge that we've left." Hermione nodded grimly.

"Leave it to me," she told him, guiding Flygon on ahead. "Flygon! Sandstorm!"

Harry almost felt sorry for the Ministry workers as they were caught completely unaware by the attack. Then he remembered their assault on Errol and any pity quickly vanished.

Flygon had slowed down somewhat, focusing on keeping up the attack, and Pig quickly shot past while Harry hung back so as not to leave Hermione behind.

"Gliscor!"

The cry surprised Harry, then he realised how foolish he was to forget.

Gliscor rose through the sandstorm unaffected and narrowed in on the source as it rose above the attack. In response Harry urged Charizard forward.

"Flamethrower!" Harry instructed and Gliscor was struck dead on, crying out in pain. It clearly was not prepared for battle and wouldn't be in one for much longer. "Focus Punch!"

Charizard closed the distance between them in a matter of seconds and Gliscor only just had the chance to regain his senses before Charizard struck with a ferocious punch, sending the Pokémon thundering back through the sandstorm, presumably down into the ground below with tremendous force, though as Gliscor soared through the sandstorm it disappeared completely from view.

The sandstorm would eventually subside, the Ministry workers picking themselves up and gathering themselves together, reviving the dumbstruck Gliscor with confusion, all of them looking around and wondering what had happened. Meanwhile, high above them, Charizard, Pig and Flygon had disappeared.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading. This is just a short chapter but I hope you enjoyed it.

There weren't many responses to the question of the day for the last chapter which either leads me to believe that Pokémon Go isn't something many of you are interested in (the only responses I received were generally negative) or that the chapter itself was not as interesting considering it is setting things up for the conclusion. Or a mixture of both.

For the question of the day I'm going to go back to a suggestion left in a previous review, shown below.

 _GGuy12345 : - ...On the other side of 'the pond', as the Brits call it, how about Ilvermorny? I'd say that I'm a mixture of Horned Serpent and Thunderbird._

I had to do a little research on this because I'm not particularly familiar with Ilvermorny. However, after looking it up I'd say I'd definitely be in Horned Serpent. A house that favours scholars is definitely for me.

So, what about you? Which Ivermorny house or houses would you be in? Let me know in the reviews.


	37. Into The Ministry

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The flight down to London was long and uneventful. The trio of Pokémon flew through the air unimpeded as the sky steadily darkened, Hermione keeping track of the various towns and cities they passed so as to be sure they were on the right track.

Eventually, with the sky so dark that only the lights of cars and street lamps could be seen below, they made it to London, where Ron took the lead.

London was enormous, and it was even more daunting in size from a bird's eye view, and though Ron insisted he knew what he was looking for and where to find it they were still in the air for some time before Ron, at last, found their target.

Charizard and Flygon followed Pig's lead as he descended to street level, soaring silently to alight in the centre of a large and mostly deserted car park, only a handful of vehicles present, sitting next to a rather formidable looking building.

"So, this is it," said Harry, watching as Ron and Ginny stiffly dismounted Pig.

"Thank god we made it," Hermione sighed in relief, a little green in the face. That was a damn sight better than Neville, though, who looked just about ready to throw up. Beside Harry Malfoy collapsed to the ground, bent double and wrenching. Ron sniggered.

"Alright, Malfoy?" He smirked. Malfoy glared. "Not a fan of flying?" Malfoy straightened up angrily.

"If humans were meant to fly they'd have wings," he said tersely. From behind Ron's back Hermione looked as though she reluctantly agreed with him.

"Come on," said Harry, allowing them only a brief moment to catch their breaths. He returned Charizard to his Pokéball and walked away, approaching the enormous building in whose shadows they'd landed. It loomed out at him in the darkness, many stories high and stretching out to the left and right. Some windows were lit, clearly there were late workers or those on a night shift, but most were dark. In front of him stood the atrium, visible through the glass front doors and lit up, though there didn't appear to be anyone in sight.

Harry pushed at the door. It didn't budge.

"I'm on it," Ron stepped forward, lock picking tools in hand, before he pulled up short. "Damn."

"What is it?" Hermione asked, moving forward to investigate. Neville, Luna, Ginny and Malfoy stood back and waited.

"There's no lock," Ron told them, his eyes flitting over the doorway. "It's all electronic. There's no key hole."

"So you can't get us in?" Harry asked. Ron shook his head worriedly.

"Then it's a good thing I came along," Malfoy spoke up, stepping forward smugly and sending a smirking look at Ron. "See, unlike Weasley, I have paid attention on my visits to the Ministry and I, unlike Weasley, can tell you that a staff ID card is required for access outside of normal working hours. Given the important role of the Ministry in our world there is always work to be done, no matter what the hour may be. A simple lock and key mechanism would not be sufficient."

"Shut it," Ron muttered darkly. "Unless you've somehow got a key card there with you then you can't get in either."

Malfoy took this in his stride. "I do not have a key card," he said. "Obviously."

"So shut up," Ron snapped, turning away to stare back at the glass door in front of them as though that were the end of the matter. "So, what do you reckon? Think we can just break our way in?"

"Not without setting off the alarms," Malfoy drawled. A vein pulsed dangerously in Ron's forehead. "They do have some security, you know."

"Then what do you suggest, Malfoy?" Ron snapped angrily. "I don't see you coming up with any big ideas."

"On the contrary, Weasley, I know exactly how to get in," Malfoy smirked and he pulled out a Pokéball. "Kadabra, come on out." The bipedal psychic type Pokémon immediately appeared before them and, on instinct, Harry's hand jerked towards Charizard's Pokéball.

"Kadabra is a very powerful user of psychic type attacks," Malfoy drawled slowly, not noticing Harry's response and clearly enjoying the frustration he was causing. Kadabra remained unthreatening. "Such attacks are capable of causing pain and suffering in people and Pokémon but also it is known that these attacks, when sufficiently powerful, can disrupt electronic equipment. At my command Kadabra can focus his attacks on the lock until he finds the right frequency to render it useless."

"Go on then," Ron growled. "Do it."

"Patience, Weasley," Malfoy smirked. "It is a virtue."

"Just do it, Malfoy," Harry told him, just about fed up himself with Malfoy's stalling. It didn't help his mood that his ribs were still sore from where Malfoy had clutched onto him for dear life the whole trip down.

"Easy, Potter, I'm getting there," Malfoy drawled. "Black's not going anywhere and if I were you I'd be a bit more polite. I am your only hope, after all."

Wham!

"Harry!" Hermione cried out in shock as Harry's fist connected firmly with Malfoy's jaw. The blonde boy stumbled, clutching his face in shock, and Harry grasped hold of his shirt to pull him up so they were looking face to face.

"Listen here, Malfoy," Harry hissed.

"You hit me," Malfoy complained, sounding much like a petulant child.

"And I'll do it again if you don't shut up," Harry told him, giving him a firm shake to reiterate his point. Malfoy fell silent. "I know you don't care and that you like to needle us but that's my godfather in there and if I don't get him out he's dead. So forgive me if I don't have time for your shit." He pushed Malfoy away, sending him stumbling. "Now open the door."

Malfoy glared at Harry.

"Fine," he said, through gritted teeth. He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes meeting those of his Kadabra, and immediately the psychic type Pokémon turned his attention to the key pad, a small red light indicating their lack of access, a raised spoon before him as he concentrated, hard.

It took about a minute, long enough for Harry to start doubting if Kadabra could do this at all, before eventually the door let out a loud buzz and the light turned green. Harry stepped forward and pushed open the door.

"Come on," he gestured them in, holding the door open for them. Malfoy went first, glowering as he passed, followed by Ginny, Neville and Luna.

"What was that?" Hermione hissed as she and Ron brought up the rear. "Why did you hit Malfoy?"

"Because he deserved it," Harry said simply. Hermione scowled but she didn't contradict him.

"Well you shouldn't have done it," she told him sternly.

"Yeah, you should have let me do it," said Ron, cracking his knuckles and scowling menacingly over at Malfoy.

"You get next time," Harry promised, much to Hermione's annoyance, before he looked past her and out into the Ministry car park. "What about Flygon?"

Flygon was waiting outside, the ground and dragon type perking up at the sound of his name, and Hermione was quickly distracted from her complaints about his treatment of Malfoy. She turned back to look at the Pokémon.

"I don't know," she muttered.

"You should take him," Ron told her. "He's already proved useful. Can't hurt to have a little more fire power on our side." Hermione hesitated.

"I've got his Pokéball," she revealed, pulling it from her belt. "I couldn't give it up after Vibrava left." She looked up at Flygon.

"Go on," Ron encouraged. "Ask him."

Hermione stepped forward.

"Flygon, I know you have your own life now and I can't expect anything from you," she said in a rush. "But will you… join my team?" Flygon nodded without hesitation. "Okay, then, Flygon, return." And Flygon disappeared in a flash of red light.

"Can we get on with it," Malfoy complained, looking sour. "I thought you were against wasting time." Harry didn't bother responding to the complaint. Instead he waited as Hermione moved past him and then let the door swing shut. The light in the keypad became red once more.

"Okay, Malfoy, where are the holding cells?"

Malfoy sneered. "Follow me."

Malfoy took the lead, walking them across the entire length of the atrium and giving Harry the opportunity to look around. It appeared the atrium took up most of the ground floor and in the centre it rose up right to the very top of the building, glass reflecting the light from inside back down on them. Walking across the open space Harry felt horribly exposed.

Malfoy led the group across towards a bank of elevators, pressing the button to call one. The elevator doors opened immediately, clearly no one was using them, and all seven students wedged themselves inside.

"Whoever is next to the buttons press '-1'," Malfoy instructed, not bothering to hide his disgust at being packed in with them. Ginny was closest and the elevator doors closed again.

"'-1'?" Hermione repeated. "Isn't that just one floor down?"

"Yes, Granger," Malfoy grumbled.

"Then why didn't we just take the stairs?" Hermione asked, annoyed.

"This is the way," Malfoy growled. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." Ron snorted.

"Trust you?" He repeated, though his words were somewhat muffled by the fact he was stuck half turned away between Neville and the back wall. "When was the last time that happened?" Thankfully the doors opened at this point and Malfoy roughly pulled himself free, dusting down his rumpled clothes.

"The stairs are on the other side of the building," he said coolly. "It would have taken us twice as long." And he walked on down the corridor.

Floor -1 was quite clearly underground, which only made sense considering where they'd come from. There were no windows, the hallway lit only by a series of low level orange lights, and beyond that there wasn't much else to see. A dark staircase disappeared down to the left halfway along the corridor but Malfoy walked right past it without giving it any notice, walking straight down the corridor confidently to the very end where sat a single, unmarked black door. Malfoy pushed it open.

"This is where things become complicated," he spoke and Harry could see why. The room they had entered was just as unmarked and featureless as the corridor outside. The only difference was that this room, shaped as a circle, was home to a set of twelve handleless doors, again lit by dim lights set between them, this time electric blue.

Harry turned to Malfoy. His face looked strained.

"Which way now?" He asked. Malfoy frowned.

"I'm thinking."

"You don't know?" Harry asked in disbelief. Malfoy shot him an annoyed look.

"It's not so easy," he said. "If I remember correctly from what father told me we need to go to the room directly across from us so…"

"Wait, wait, wait a minute," Ron spoke up. "What do you mean, 'from what father told me'?" Malfoy looked uncomfortable. "You've never been here, have you?"

"Of course I haven't, why would I be consorting with criminals," Malfoy snapped, though he twitched anxiously. "I may not have been here before but father gave me detailed directions."

"Then why didn't you just tell Harry?" Ginny piped up. "Why didn't you just explain what your father told you?" Malfoy spluttered.

"I'd like to point out that you wouldn't even have gotten this far without me," he snapped.

"But it is suspicious," Hermione pointed out, her tone somewhat accusatory. "At no point did you mention your dad had given you directions. For that matter, why was he even giving you directions?"

"It is unusual," Luna agreed. Neville nodded firmly.

Malfoy looked like a deer caught in the headlights as the five students fixed accusatory looks at him.

Harry sighed.

"Enough," he said. "It doesn't matter how Malfoy knows the way. Come on, Sirius's life is in danger." He turned to Malfoy. "You think it's this way?" Malfoy nodded.

The room Harry walked into was unlike any cell room Harry had imagined. The whole room seemed to be alive, glinting with gold, so much brighter than the outer chamber or the hallway beyond, and as soon as the door was opened the sound of ticking from at least a hundred clocks filled the air.

"Are we going the right way?" Neville asked nervously, following Harry through the door.

"Yes," Malfoy said definitively. "This is exactly as father described. There should be a door somewhere." He craned his neck. "There. That way."

Ron, who was closest, moved to the door.

"Ow!"

Harry frowned and hurriedly moved through the rows of clocks, unable to see what had stopped Ron in his tracks though comforted by the fact that the redhead was still standing, if holding his belly rather tenderly. Pushing past Neville and Luna he reached Ron's side.

In front of him hovered a small, metallic blue Pokémon, a single eye at the top morphing into what appeared to be a single clawed foot. Harry rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out his Pokédex.

"Beldum, the Iron Ball Pokémon. The magnetic force generated by its body repels the ground's natural magnetism, letting it float."

"A Beldum," Hermione said interestedly, moving through the aisles to get a good look. "Those are very rare Pokémon. I wonder what it's doing here."

"It tackled me," Ron complained.

"Nonsense," Hermione told him. "Beldum don't know the move Tackle. The only move they can use before they evolve is Take Down."

"Fine, but it doesn't explain why it's using it on me," Ron complained.

"Why, isn't it obvious?" Luna said serenely. "He wants to be your friend."

He certainly wasn't acting aggressive. Since he'd attacked Ron he'd done nothing more than hover there, expressionless, though admittedly it was hard to imagine how a Beldum could show emotion.

"My friend?" Ron repeated doubtfully.

"I suppose it could just be being friendly," Hermione suggested uncertainly. "I imagine this must be quite exciting, having people here at night, especially if Beldum lives here full time."

"Perhaps," Harry agreed but his mind was wandering. Beldum appeared to be friendly, or at least non-aggressive, but if there was one Pokémon down here then there was almost bound to be others. And what sort of cell didn't have a guard?

Now that they were getting close Harry's worries began to increase.

Meanwhile Ron was getting impatient.

"I don't care if he wants to be friends or not, he's in my way," he argued. "And who's to say he's not doing it on purpose. Look." Ron moved forward, attempting to go around the steel and psychic type, but Beldum pushed back. "See."

At the other end of the room Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"Like many times before it appears that the Gryffindors have been stymied by the most insignificant of hurdles," he drawled and he walked around towards the door, taking a different route from Ron and bypassing Beldum completely. "There's more than one way past an obstruction, Weasley." He pulled open the door. "Shall we?"

The rest of the students followed Malfoy's lead, taking other paths, of which there were many, and bypassing Beldum completely. Ron, ears burning, brushed Beldum aside roughly to follow them, leaving the Pokémon behind, watching as they walked through the door.

The room they appeared in was enormous and again was in stark contrast to the room they'd just left. It was dark, Harry couldn't see how far the room stretched, filled with aisle upon aisle of shelves, upon which sat hundreds of little specs of blue light, the only source of light of any kind in the whole room.

"What are they?" Hermione asked, looking around the room in wonder. Harry thought he knew and he stepped forward down the closest aisle for a better look.

"Time plants," he said. He'd been right to recognise the mystical blue glow of the fascinating constructs.

"Time plants?" Neville questioned, walking nervously after him down the aisle. "What are they?"

"I've only seen one once," Harry admitted, moving from one time plant to the next, marvelling in the way each of them were distinct from the others. "Dumbledore had it. I walked in on his office once and accidentally used it."

"And what does it do?" Ginny asked interestedly.

"Records things," Harry told her. "I don't know how it works exactly but I got the impression from Dumbledore that you could keep one in your pocket and then use it to rewatch things that had happened while you had it with you. When it's activated it produces this blue, glow field and plays out, well, memories, essentially."

"So what do you think these are for?" Hermione asked interestedly. "Record keeping?" Harry shrugged.

"I suppose so," he said. "I always thought they would be more rare than that but there are markings on the shelves." He pointed.

"Is it some sort of code, do you think?" Hermione wondered, moving closer to inspect the plaque Harry was pointing to.

"Not one I can understand," he replied. "But I'm sure these are names. 'A. Thomson', 'J. C. Black'."

"Looks like it," Hermione agreed. "And those letters could be initials."

Meanwhile Ron had wandered past them, looking out into the darkness ahead.

"I don't like this," he murmured, turning back to them. "I don't see the Ministry keeping prisoners down here. Can you see aurors marching murderers and thieves through any of these rooms?"

Harry could not and the unease he'd been feeling the moment of their arrival at the Ministry grew. Ron was right, the Ministry would never hide criminals down here.

And his suspicions were confirmed by Neville's next words. "Where's Malfoy?"

Draco Malfoy was gone. Even as they all turned on the spot to look Harry knew none of them would find him. He had led them down here, and now Harry realised the true reason why.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out. He felt sick. "I'm so sorry."

"Harry, what…?"

"It's a trap," he said and as he did so he saw the colour drain out of each of their faces. "We shouldn't have come here."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

To DelugeLeader 666: Palindromes are interesting and I remember I once did a quiz to try and find all the palindrome Pokémon names. The only one's I remembered of the top of my head were Eevee (as you said) and Girafarig. I've looked it up so I know there are more so if anyone would like to see if they can figure them out (without googling) put your suggestions in the reviews.

Thanks to those of you who answered last chapter's question of the day. There were just a couple, one saying they would be in Horned Serpent and the other saying Thunderbird, although the reviewer who originally asked the question said they were a mix of both Horned Serpent and Thunderbird.

For this chapter's question of the day I'm going to ask something that has a lot to do with this current chapter.

 _QOTD :- Do you prefer Draco Malfoy to be a Hero or a Villain in fan fiction?_

First off I'd like to say your answers to this will have no impact on what happens with Draco in this story. I've already got that completely planned out.

My answer is that I don't necessarily prefer one way or the other.

I like the idea of Draco fighting alongside Harry because of the sort of dynamic you can have between the two characters, and I've seen this done very well in other stories. On the other hand there are so many stories out there where Draco is made to seem just tragically understood, loads of them pairing him with either Hermione or Harry, and sometimes it annoys me since, in the books, Draco was incredibly mean and outright hateful to both of them. I know what you do as a child doesn't define your whole life but so many of these stories seem to simply ignore his bad qualities and pretend they never happened for the sake of righting this eternally good, tragically misunderstood hero.

On the other side I also think Draco is a great antagonist for Harry in school and I like how they can both grow up at the same time but on opposite sides, making every conflict between them a mostly level playing field. On the other hand a lot of stories just simplify Draco's character to spoiled rich kid that Harry gets to beat to make him seem even better. Although I suppose this criticism is simply one of being annoyed by bad writing. Spoiled brats are perfectly fine characters if they are well written.

To sum up I'd say that there is a huge amount of grey area between heroes and villains and for me Draco falls directly into that, meaning he can make both a good hero and a good villain.

So what do you think? Do you love Draco Malfoy or do you see him more as a bigoted child who is simply a bully? Let me know in the reviews.


	38. The Hall Of Prophicies

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The sound of someone letting out a long, slow, clap echoed throughout the room.

"Well, well, well." Lucius Malfoy walked into view, appearing from the very direction that they had been led from. Elsewhere the sound of footsteps could be heard across the stone floor, slow and deliberate, and a heavy body slid smoothly across the ground as a Serperior, long and coloured unlike any Harry had ever seen before, slithered to Malfoy's side.

"Well done," Mr Malfoy said with a smile. "I honestly did not expect you to realise your predicament until we'd revealed ourselves. I thought your worry over your poor, incarcerated godfather would blind you to Draco's manipulations."

"Malfoy lies well," Harry retorted. "But I'm not stupid enough to trust him."

"And yet, here you are," Mr Malfoy smirked. "With only a few friends for company. I admit my instructions were for you to be brought here alone, but even with the six of you you are still grossly outnumbered."

He was right. Aside from Lucius Malfoy there were a number of masked Death Eaters lined up behind him and another couple had approached from the other end of the aisle, cutting off their possible escape route.

"And why did you want me here at all?" Harry questioned. Perhaps if he kept them talking an opportunity to escape might show itself. "Why wait in this room when you could have trapped me ages ago. Draco almost got us lost, there must have been a reason you wanted me here."

Lucius Malfoy lost his smile for a brief moment, almost too short a time to notice, before it returned.

"Astute observation, Potter," he said condescendingly. "Perhaps, if I may, I'll explain on a short walk." He gestured down the aisle. "After you."

Harry felt he had no choice but to obey and though it pained him to expose his back to Malfoy no blow came. Instead Malfoy spoke.

"This room," he said grandly. "Is called the Hall of Prophecies. You seemed to have a good grasp of time plants and what they are used for and you are quite right, this room is filled with records."

As Malfoy spoke Harry's eyes flitted over the two Death Eaters leading the group. Two could be overwhelmed and beyond them must be a way out. The only problem was the Death Eaters on the other side but if they could find a way to distract them…

Malfoy was still talking.

"Many people don't believe in prophecy, in the power of prediction. Fortune Telling as a subject taught at Hogwarts is a joke," he said. "But true prophets do exist and the Ministry has long been in the business of recording such predictions. Stop."

The command came so suddenly that Harry almost tripped. The Death Eaters, however, were in lock step.

"For many years now one particular prophecy has captured our lord's attention," Malfoy said, his voice soft now as he walked forward, approaching the shelves to their right. He stopped before one particular time plant, his face lit up by its mysterious blue glow.

"'S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D'," he read with a small scoff. "'Dark Lord and, question mark, Harry Potter'."

Harry was starting to put the pieces together. So this was what the Legion had been protecting for the past year. There hadn't been a Legion member standing guard tonight. Why was that?

"This prophecy has been rather tantalisingly out of reach for such a long time," Lucius Malfoy commented and he reached out with both hands to gently lift the time plant from its holder. "The Ministry security is, to be frank, laughable. Any employee who knew what they were doing could come down here and steal the prophecy, even doing so without notice. But the Legion…" Malfoy trailed off.

"They have been standing guard all year, such an annoyance," Lucius huffed. "Just around Christmas the Dark Lord sent Nagini to scout the defences and Arthur Weasley got in the way. The resulting mess forced us to proceed with more caution, lest our presence be recognised, and so we were forced to reevaluate, and wait. Oh, the wait." Malfoy turned to face them once more, prophecy cradled in his hands.

"So why tonight?" Harry asked. "Nothing's changed."

"Oh, but it has," Lucius denied. "For tonight in the Ministry resides Sirius Black, far from our gathering down here. And with just a few off the cuff remarks it was easy to persuade the Minister to move Black's execution forward. To tomorrow, to be exact." Harry's fists clenched.

"So you distracted them," Harry concluded.

"With remarkable ease," Malfoy confirmed. "They are in the Ministry, most likely, with all hands on deck. But while they rescue Black, we'll capture you."

At least Sirius will be safe then, Harry thought and it gave him hope. If the Legion could rescue Sirius then Harry could focus on getting his friends out of here.

Harry moved to speak, trying to stretch out the confrontation and give himself more time to think. Instead he was distracted as one of the masked Death Eaters behind Malfoy shifted, losing their stiff posture with an exhalation of breath.

"I'm bored." Annoyance flashed across Lucius Malfoy's face.

"Be patient, Bella," he replied, his voice tight. "Just do as you were instructed." The woman, Bella, did not heed his warnings and instead moved closer, the other Death Eaters parting as she approached. At her feet a Banette shifted into being.

"I am doing as instructed, Lucius," she told him haughtily. "Capture Potter, collect the prophecy, and return both to the Dark Lord." She came to a stop beside Lucius, looking completely at ease, and removed her mask.

Neville gasped. Harry almost did himself. Bellatrix LeStrange turned to them and smiled.

"Recognise me, sweetie," she crooned. "Many people do. I have one of those faces, I think."

"You…" Neville spat, stepping forward angrily and only stopping as Hermione grabbed hold of his arm.

Bellatrix laughed, a manic sound, and so did her Banette, the laughter chilling Harry to the bone as it echoed around the cavernous room.

"Now you _really_ know me, don't you," Bellatrix said. "That's real hate in your eyes. Got some family connection? A McKinnon, maybe? Or a Bones?"

"A Longbottom," Neville said proudly. "Neville Longbottom." Bellatrix screeched with laughter.

"Longbottom?! Now that's really something," she cackled. "Such fun we had with them, me and Rab and Dolly and wee little Barty. Never did get around to the boy, did we Banette?" Banette chittered in response. "I know how disappointed that made you."

Harry was beginning to panic. With Lucius Malfoy Harry knew where he stood and what to expect. But Bellatrix LeStrange was a different matter altogether. Harry could already tell that she was much more dangerous.

"So, what now?" Harry asked defiantly, deliberately addressing Mr Malfoy. "You've got the time plant but you're not getting me without a fight." Malfoy looked uncertain, clearly remembering Harry's battle with Voldemort in the graveyard a year ago.

Bellatrix had no such concerns. She laughed.

"'So what now?'" She mimicked in a babylike voice before cackling once more. "Now we take you to the Dark Lord, Potter."

"I'll come quietly," Harry said, again addressing Malfoy. "So long as you let my friends go free."

"Not a chance, Potter," Bellatrix cackled derisively.

"Nonsense, the Dark Lord only wants Potter," Malfoy argued. He seemed ready to accept the deal.

"Maybe our lord does not want them but I know people who will," Bellatrix trilled, her eyes gleaming. "You know Greyback likes them young. And a blonde, redhead and brunette? The full set." Her eyes alighted on Hermione. "What do you say, princess? Fancy a life lying on your back?" Harry stepped in front of Hermione protectively, putting himself between her and Bellatrix, and he caught Neville moving closer as well. Behind him he could hear Ron pull Ginny and Luna close.

Bellatrix cackled.

"Quiet, Bella, we are not here to cater to Fenrir's sick fetishes," Malfoy snapped angrily. "We're here on the Dark Lord's orders to get Potter."

"We'll get Potter, Lucy, but why settle for less. I'd quite like the Longbottom boy, put a collar around his neck."

"Bella, no!"

The rest of the Death Eaters looked incredibly uncomfortable, shifting on their feet as their attention swivelled from Malfoy to LeStrange and back again as the argument grew more and more heated.

This gave Harry just the opportunity he needed. As he'd stepped in front of Hermione earlier he had also dropped one hand behind his back, more on instinct than a planned manoeuvre. Now, as the Death Eaters became distracted, he gently reached out behind him.

Hermione let out a little breath of air as Harry's hand brushed up against her waist but with the heated argument between Lucius and Bellatrix it went unnoticed. Slowly and silently Harry allowed his hand to drift along her belt, feeling each Pokéball as he passed and stopping on the one third from the right. He pulled it free.

"Enough, Bella!" Malfoy shouted, snapping Harry's attention back to the argument before him. "We do this my way. Potter, we need proof of your willingness to comply. Hand over your Pokémon."

"Yes, hand over your Pokémon and then your friends too," Bellatrix cackled.

"You promise you'll allow my friends to leave?" Harry asked Malfoy.

"Yes," Malfoy promised.

"Unharmed?"

"You'll be lucky," Bellatrix cackled. That was all Harry needed to hear to make up his mind. Lucius may have been telling the truth when he'd promised to leave the others be, but Bellatrix would do no such thing.

"Well then," Harry said, swallowing thickly. Lucius and Bellatrix watched him expectantly. "Espurr, now!"

From Hermione's arms, hidden behind Harry's back, Espurr let out a most horrendous cry and as one each and every Death Eater clutched their head in their hands.

"Go!" Harry shouted, gesturing down the aisle away from Malfoy and Bellatrix. Ron, face scrunched against the noise, shoved the two Death Eaters behind him into the shelves, the two men crumpling to the floor.

As Ron started to lead the way out of there Harry glanced back. The time plant containing Harry's prophecy had fallen to the ground as Malfoy tried to fend off Espurr's attack. Quickly, Harry stepped forward to pick it up.

And Banette appeared before him.

"Psybeam!"

Espurr's attack struck Banette and caused it to recoil in shock. Harry, not daring to chance his luck, made a break for it.

"Espurr, return," Hermione said as she ran, returning the largely inexperienced Pokémon to safety. As she did so the terrible noise Espurr was emitting stopped.

"After them!" Malfoy shouted and a few moments later the sound of their own running footsteps were joined by many more. Up ahead Harry could see the end of the aisle and, to his delight, a doorway, towards which Ron was quickly approaching.

"Vine Whip!"

Harry stumbled as something struck him with a glancing blow and beside him Neville fell as he was rapped hard on the ankles.

"Again!"

Harry threw himself to the ground, this time prepared for the attack, and Serperior's thick vine swung overhead, missing him by inches and instead crashing into the shelves beside him. The whole aisle seemed to sway, the shelves to Harry's left as one swinging outwards and in, and Harry knew they were in trouble.

"Run!" He shouted, hoisting Neville to his feet and pushing him forward as the shelves started to splinter and crack. "Look out!"

They weren't fast enough. Still fifty or so feet from the end of the aisle the shelves started to collapse around them. Harry tried to keep running, brushing off the falling time plants whilst keeping his own safely in his grasp, but he was brought short by a cry of pain.

"Harry!" Neville was trying to draw his attention, kneeling down by a stack of fallen shelves. "It's Hermione! She's stuck!"

Harry rushed forward, falling to his knees as he reached them. Immediately he could see Hermione, trapped beneath the shelves, but she looked alright.

"Hermione, can you move?" Harry asked as he and Neville started shifting through the debris.

"My leg," Hermione told him, pointing. Her left leg was trapped at an awkward angle, partly twisted beneath her, and Harry immediately moved to free it.

"Harry!" Ron's head appeared over the mass of rubble that littered their path, his face pale and panicked. Looking the other way Harry could see the Death Eaters approaching, Serperior slithering at the front.

"Go!" Harry shouted to Ron. "Get out of here and get the Legion!" Pale faced but focused, Ron gave a firm nod.

"Neville," Harry said next, aware of the Death Eaters approaching rapidly. "I need you to slow them down. Buy us some time." Neville nodded.

"Pupitar, use Sandstorm!"

Even as Harry turned his back, focusing his attentions on freeing Hermione, he could still feel the power behind Pupitar's attack. Throughout the cavernous room shelves creaked and swayed under the storm, many of them collapsing with large bangs as Harry, at last, pulled Hermione free.

"Pupitar!" Neville's cry alerted Harry just in time to see Pupitar get blown back in a storm of leaves. Serperior was closing in.

"Talonflame, Fire Blast!" Harry shouted, ordering the attack even before Serperior became visible through the steadily dying sandstorm.

"Lets go!" He helped Hermione up, supporting her weight as she struggled to stand on her injured leg, with Neville hurrying after them, Pupitar returned safely to his Pokéball.

The room had quickly turned into a war zone. In the area immediately surrounding them there was barely a shelf left untouched, time plants scattered across the ground and many more buried under layers of rubble that in many places came up to knee height or above, while in some places whole aisles had collapsed.

"Harry!" Harry looked up at Hermione's cry, his focus pulled away from watching their footing as they struggled along, and he felt his stomach tighten. They were closer to the door now, some distance between themselves and Serperior, but in their distraction the Death Eaters had flanked them and now they bared down on all sides.

Most specifically the door that Ron, Ginny and Luna had disappeared through was cut off.

"Talonflame!" Harry shouted. His second Pokémon had fought off Serperior's advances, a wall of fire now raging behind them, separating them from the Death Eaters that followed, flames licking eagerly at the fallen wood. "We need to find another way out!" Talonflame nodded and swooped away.

"Come on," Harry said, helping Hermione move, the girl starting to take her own weight again. They moved off to the left, down a crooked path through the fallen debris that led them away from the Death Eaters ahead and the pursuers behind.

"Talon!" Talonflame reappeared after only a few moments, drawing their attention and gesturing for them to follow.

"This way," Harry instructed, pressing on down their chosen path towards where Talonflame hovered.

"Eelektross, Thunderbolt!" Lucius Malfoy's voice cut above the chaos.

From out of nowhere, or so it seemed, a bolt of sparking electricity shot out of the ground and engulfed Talonflame where he flew.

"No! Talonflame!" Harry shouted, speeding up to try and reach his Pokémon. From the corner of his eye he saw Eelektross sliding out of the rubble. "Talonflame, return!" As Talonflame disappeared Eelektross turned its attention to Harry.

"Flygon, stop Eelektross!" Hermione instructed, limping after Harry and sending out the ground and dragon type just in time to take a Thunderbolt in their stead, the electricity washing harmlessly over his rough skinned body.

Taking advantage of the situation Flygon charged forwards, throwing himself bodily at Eelektross and physically wrestling it to the ground as Harry, Hermione and Neville continued their escape.

Harry could see the door ahead of them, sure that it must have been the exit Talonflame had been trying to show them to, and felt a glimmer of hope as the three of them scrabbled closer.

"Scolipede, stop them!" That glimmer died as Lucius Malfoy's next Pokémon appeared in their path.

Scolipede towered high above them, looming dangerously over the smashed shelves and scattered time plants, the dancing flames making the shadow it cast even larger.

"Rollout!" Following the exact same path Harry and the others needed to escape Scolipede came charging forwards. It tucked itself into a ball, picking up speed, and as it flew towards them splinters exploded outwards in its wake as Scolipede decimated everything in its path.

"Scizor, go!" The steel and bug type appeared as a surprise to Harry, having barely had time to comprehend how they were going to escape the seemingly inevitable attack coming their way, and Scizor braced himself before them.

The collision between the two Pokémon was ferocious and Scizor immediately found himself being pushed back by the sheer force of Scolipede's attack. He dug in his heels, digging deep within himself and straining every muscle in his body and, with an enormous effort, he lifted Scolipede off the ground and flung it to the side.

With their path clear Harry, Hermione and Neville wasted no time. They ran. Off to the side Scolipede was quick to recover and try to stop them but Scizor was on it in a flash to engage the other bug type in battle, Flygon still wrestling with Eelektross far behind them to give them an opening.

"Almost there," Harry panted encouragingly. They were covering ground quickly, Scolipede having inadvertently cleared a straight path through the debris, and though he was still on guard it did not appear that any new threats were arising, though Flygon and Scizor still had their hands full dealing with the old ones.

"Fall back!" Hermione shouted. Flygon, having managed to pin Eelektross to the ground, gave the electric type one last blow before obeying the call, Scizor similarly holding off Scolipede long enough to return to Neville's side.

They had reached the door now, mere feet away from some modicum of safety. But no sooner had they started to celebrate this victory did they hear the sound of running footsteps echoing loudly throughout the room.

"I see Death Eaters!" Neville shouted, panicked as the masked men rounded the corner of one of the last surviving aisles to their right.

"We've got them on this side, too," Hermione told them, watching as more Death Eaters appeared to the left.

"We have to create a distraction," Harry said quickly. "We can't just let them follow us."

"Leave it to me." Hermione pulled out a Pokéball. "Flygon, use Sandstorm! Mismagius, Ominous Wind!"

It felt as though they were standing in the epicentre of an explosion. On the one side Death Eaters cowered under the destruction of Flygon's Sandstorm, wood and errant flames being picked up and flung towards them. On the other side they cowered beneath the overwhelming pressure of Mismagius's Ominous Wind.

"Go!" Hermione shouted over the furore, pushing Harry and Neville through the door, Neville calling back his Scizor as he went. Standing in the doorway, last to leave, Hermione turned to Mismagius. They shared a long, serious look.

"Flygon, return!" Hermione called, the ground and dragon type disappearing from view and with him the Sandstorm fell away.

The Death Eaters that had been battered by the attack barely had time to let out a sigh of relief and look up as they were freed from its spell. Then Mismagius let go.

The fierce gale of Ominous Wind ripped through the room, demolishing the last of the shelves still standing and reducing the wood to little more than dust. And as Hermione hurried after Harry and Neville the power of the attack slammed the door shut behind her, knocking her into the room beyond.

"Mismagius will buy us some time," she said breathlessly, straightening up. "But it won't be much. We need to get out of here."

The room they had entered was much smaller than the Hall of Prophecies and was much closer in appearance to the room with the clocks, only this room was completely empty. The only thing of note was a simple wooden door sitting at the other end of the room and the three of them quickly hurried towards it.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Thanks to those of you who answered the question of the day of the last chapter. It seems you, like me, like both a villainous Draco and good guy Draco provided the story is well written. I suppose you can say that about any character and I have seen pretty much every character portrayed as a good guy and a bad guy in various fan-fictions I've read. The one exception is Umbridge. Has anyone read a story where she's good? I suppose that can be a sort of mini question of the day.

For the real question of the day, see below.

 _QOTD: If you were a Death Eater which do you think you'd be most like?_

There aren't really that many Death Eaters we know lots about so I suppose this is really limited to Lucius, Bellatrix, Barty Crouch Jr, Karkaroff, Wormtail, Greyback, and I suppose the Carrows. Snape and Draco don't count.

For me I'd say Lucius. He's always appeared much more sane than any of the others and while clearly evil he is mostly self serving. His real goals aren't so much in causing pain and suffering but in advancing his own position. He has a family that he loves and who love him in return and after the first fall of Voldemort he is one of very few Death Eaters to have a fully functioning life. In fact, he probably does better with Voldemort gone than when he is alive.

So what do you think? I promise not to judge if you identify with Bellatrix. Let me know in the reviews which of the Death Eaters you think matches you best.


	39. The Chase

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Wham!

Harry was given only a heartbeat to notice Neville crash head first into seemingly thin air before he collided with the unseen barrier himself, falling back to the ground in shock.

"What on earth?" He cried, clutching his nose painfully while looking up at whatever it was that had stopped him. There appeared to be nothing there.

But Hermione knew better.

"Barrier," she said, moving forward tentatively with outstretched arms. Her hands came to rest against something solid. "Or Reflect. Probably put up by a Mr Mime."

"So how do we get past it?" Harry asked.

"Do we have to break through?" Neville asked anxiously. Hermione frowned.

"Mr Mime are known to use barriers to trap opponents, often without their knowledge since they can't see the barriers being created." Hermione snapped her fingers. "I've got it. Noctowl, come out and use Foresight."

Hermione's starter Pokémon fluttered into appearance and, upon hearing the command, perched himself on the top of Hermione's head. A weird energy seemed to emit from his eyes, scanning across the whole room from left to right. And as he did so Neville gasped.

A maze stood before them, a complex puzzle of previously invisible walls standing between them and the door, at least doubling if not tripling their journey.

A loud bang was heard outside.

"Lets go," Harry said quickly, reminded that there was no time to waste as Mismagius continued to hold back their chasers. He hurried into the entrance of the maze.

It was far from easy going. Though the maze was now visible to them the walls were still close to transparent and as Harry, Hermione and Neville got deeper into the maze it became harder to distinguish between the right path and the dead ends.

"Mismagius." The reappearance of Hermione's ghost type Pokémon was worrying, each of them knowing that if Mismagius was here that meant the Death Eaters weren't far behind. As Mismagius floated towards them, paying no mind to the barriers that had so easily stopped her trainer, voices could be heard from behind the door.

"You lot, follow Rookwood and cut them off." It was Lucius Malfoy's voice issuing instructions from the other side of the door. "Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, you're with me." And the door opened.

As Lucius Malfoy stepped through the doorway his eyes swept the room, taking notice of Harry, Hermione, Neville, Noctowl, Mismagius, and the shimmering maze that ensconced them all. His companions did not.

"Crabbe, you imbecile!" Malfoy bellowed as Crabbe Sr clambered back to his feet having charged head first into the barrier, eyes focused only on Harry.

"Can't you see the Reflect barriers?" Malfoy berated him. "Did you not wonder why they were still here?"

"Oy, shu'up!" Crabbe retorted, his pride bruised as well as his head. "It ain't tha' easy, ya know, not with my cataracts."

"I don't want to hear it," Malfoy snapped. "Now stop being useless and get Potter."

"Alrigh'," Crabbe muttered and he pulled out a Pokéball. "Lets go, Granbull. Let's use tha' Brick Break."

Hermione gasped. "Go," she hissed, hurriedly pushing Harry and Neville forward as the grumpy looking Granbull raised a beefy paw high into the air, then brought it crashing down on the barrier.

The barrier cracked beneath its swing, and shattered.

"That's Brick Break," Hermione said worriedly as she continued to urge Harry and Neville onwards. "As an added effect it has the ability to break through all sorts of barriers. Quick, Mismagius, use Shadow Ball."

It was a bizarre race to be in. The room was not large, Harry was close enough to see the eyes of each of the still masked Death Eaters from wherever he stood, yet the three Gryffindors remained out of reach. They rushed left and right, forwards and sometimes even back as they sought to reach the exit. Meanwhile Granbull was making slow but steady progress, breaking through the maze and seeming to be able to shrug off Mismagius's special attacks as though they were nothing, continuing unimpeded. All the while Malfoy watched with narrowed, calculating eyes.

Eventually Harry and the others would either make it out the maze or Granbull would catch up with them first. Fortunately the former happened.

Flushed with relief Harry waved Hermione and Neville through the door first, hanging back with Mismagius as the ghost type continued to fire off attacks. Meeting Malfoy's gaze Harry slid through the door and closed it behind him.

He turned and hurried forward.

"Aragog, String Shot!" The sticky web like substance wrapped around Harry's midriff and halted him in his tracks, balanced precariously on one leg, as he looked forward into a floating swarm mere inches from his face. His breath stopped.

"Aragog, pull him back," Hermione instructed and Harry gratefully surrendered to the Ariados's strength as he hauled him away from the swirling, mysterious grey mass and safely back to the stone wall, where Hermione and Neville stood, white faced.

"What the…?"

"Unown," Hermione answered the question before he could ask it. "Individually useless. Poor stats and their only known move is Hidden Power. But there have been stories about what happens when a group of them gather in one place. Horrible stories. It's said that if enough gather they have the ability to reshape reality itself."

Harry swallowed. It had been a very close miss.

"Where to next?" He asked, choosing to focus on his own still desperate situation. "Do either of you see the way out?" As in the previous room there was little of notice but for the swirling swarm in the middle, only a meter or so of space for anyone to get round them.

"I see a door," Neville said, pointing across the room. Harry nodded.

"That appears to be the only way," he noted. Otherwise the walls were nothing but blank grey stone. "Lets go, but be careful. Stick to the walls."

Nervously Harry, Hermione and Neville edged their way around the perimeter of the room, trying to keep as much physical distance between themselves and the Unown as possible as they inched towards the door.

"Mismagius."

Again Mismagius's appearance was a warning for the arrival of the Death Eaters. A mere moment after Mismagius had rejoined them the door they'd just come through burst open.

"Got 'em!" Crabbe shouted, flying through the doorway.

But he'd gone way too far. As he tried to turn himself towards Harry, Hermione and Neville, his balance thrown by the sudden change in direction, his right leg flailed out into the Unown swarm. And unlike Harry there was no Ariados willing to pull him back.

Crabbe fell still as everything seemed to stop, his leg not falling to the ground like he'd expected yet seemingly stuck, though there didn't appear to be any contact between it and the Unown. And then he started to be pulled in.

It was a pleasant process, slow and delicate and at first Crabbe didn't fight it, too confused by what was happening as his leg was dragged inwards and his other foot started to lift away from the ground. His eyes widened as he started to panic, stretching out with the tips of his toes to try and keep in contact with the ground but it was no use, his second leg rising gracefully into the air to join his first. He scrabbled about, trying to grab hold of anything with his still working arms, but no matter how hard he fought it had no effect as, eyes and mouth wide open with shock, he was gently pulled into the swarm and disappeared from view.

Nobody moved.

"Crabbe?" Goyle Sr stuttered from the doorway. There was no response.

Granbull howled.

What happened next happened so fast Harry couldn't have stopped it if he'd tried. Granbull, incensed, threw itself forward, charging the Unown swarm with teeth bared. Granbull flung itself off its feet, diving towards the Unown swarm and biting down viciously, but hit nothing.

Granbull, too, disappeared without a trace.

"Go," Harry said hurriedly, Granbull's last act prompting him into action. Neither Hermione nor Neville looked like they wanted to listen, each staring aghast with white faces and wide, horrified eyes at the Unown, who continued to glide lazily through the air, untroubled.

Harry pushed, there was no time to argue. The sudden motion was enough to get his friends going, though they still looked pale, and the three of them stumbled towards the door.

"Eelektross, Thunderbolt!" The electric attack struck the wall just above Harry's head, forcing him to duck, looking behind him in shock.

Malfoy, Goyle and Nott were following them, even after witnessing what had happened to their friend, and Malfoy's Eelektross was leading the way, body sparking. Only worry about the Unown had kept it from hitting Harry.

"Move!" Harry shouted, this time with more urgency, and Hermione and Neville quickly started to kick into gear.

Another bolt of electricity soared Harry's way, Mismagius emerging in front of him to counter with a Shadow Ball as Neville reached the door and hurried through. Hermione went next, Noctowl and Aragog following after her, and then Harry did, slamming the door behind him.

"Harry!"

Harry threw himself to the side instinctively, crashing painfully against a nearby wall, and not a moment too soon. Mere seconds after he'd dived the space he had been standing in became occupied instead by a massive fist. The ground shook violently on impact and, swallowing, Harry looked up.

Towering over him, hunched against the ceiling above, was the most terrifying Pokémon Harry had ever seen.

It was a Nidoking, yet wilder looking than anything Harry had seen in his textbooks. It was huge, too large for the room it was in, just the one arm bigger and more muscular than Harry's entire body. Its claws scraped horribly on the ground, making the hair on Harry's arms stand on end, and its fangs jutted terribly from its jaw. Cowering beneath its shadow, Harry looked up to see two dark eyes glaring down at him.

"Dewott, Hydro Pump!"

Harry could not see Dewott, or indeed Neville, behind Nidoking's bulk, but he did spot the torrent of water flying through the air moments before reaching Nidoking and he scrambled out of the way.

Nidoking roared in pain as Dewott's attack struck, catching him unexpectedly on the side of his head, the massive Pokémon hunching even further and turning his back to protect against the cascade of water. From his position nearby, though fortunately now out of range of Nidoking's fists, Harry saw the monster Pokémon's eyes narrow.

"Neville, move!"

Neville threw himself to the side at Harry's warning, tumbling to a stop at the feet of an old desk as the fallen bookcase he'd been using for cover disintegrated into wood chip as Nidoking turned and blasted across a destructive Hyper Beam.

"They're here," Lucius Malfoy's voice sounded from the other side of the door. A moment later the door exploded, shrapnel flying outwards as electricity sparked in the remains of the doorway.

Nidoking didn't even flinch.

A masked Death Eater ran through the door and Nidoking lashed out with a swing of his mighty tail. The Death Eater, Nott, went crashing into the wall, mere feet from where Harry crouched. He did not move.

"Lucius!" Goyle, last of the masked Death Eaters, stopped dead in the doorway, trembling as he gazed up into the face of Nidoking. Nidoking gazed back.

A single flick of the wrist was all it took to send Goyle flying back through the doorway, unconscious. There was no sound of him landing. It seemed he had joined Crabbe in falling to the Unown.

Nidoking roared.

"Eelektross, quick, come back!" Malfoy's voice sounded panicked and Harry could easily imagine the blonde haired trainer calling back his Pokémon as he hastily retreated back through the room.

Nidoking, to his credit, was proving why this was a smart move. Turning in the cramped space he had found himself in, his tail nearly pinning Harry to the wall, Nidoking thrust his claws through the doorway savagely. He was much too large, his arms too wide on their own to reach in after Malfoy, and Nidoking quickly realised this and pulled his arms back, dropping his head, instead, down to the opening. A Hyper Beam formed in his mouth, dark eyes seeking out his target, and he fired his attack…

… straight into the Unown.

The world exploded. Harry could not see anything but light as his eyes were forced shut and he was blown backwards, sliding along the wall before he collided with something solid. For so long the blast continued, the pressure unbearable, until, finally, it started to fade.

Harry cracked his eyes open with difficulty. Dust hung in the air, his vision obscured, and as he tried to take a breath he coughed violently. He tried to push himself up, unfolding his leg from the uncomfortable position it'd found itself in, and as he pulled himself up onto all fours he looked down at his hands to find them littered with cuts. He looked around.

Hermione was not far away, disorientated and pulling herself up in much the same way Harry was, while across the room Neville poked his head up from behind the desk he had so fortunately been able to shield himself with.

There was no sign of Malfoy.

As Harry started to rise back up to his feet movement startled him. In the centre of the room Nidoking's massive form shifted. Loose debris fell from his back to the ground as he started to come to.

Watching the enormous Pokémon rouse himself Harry reached worriedly for his belt. None of his Pokémon had a good matchup against a Nidoking and so he clutched Charizard's Pokéball tightly in his fist, the only one of his Pokémon he knew would stand a chance.

Nidoking looked around the room, eyes picking out each of them and the Pokémon they had out, and pulled himself to his feet. He stood at full height, or as full as he could under the low ceiling, and growled.

"Wait!"

Nidoking turned in surprise. So did Harry.

Hermione had pulled herself to her feet, standing tall and exposed before Nidoking. She looked out at her three Pokémon, Noctowl, Mismagius and Aragog, all looking battered and bruised, and returned them to their Pokéballs.

Then she stepped forward.

"It's alright," she said softly, but she wasn't talking to Harry. Instead her eyes were fixed steadily on Nidoking as she took another careful step forward.

Nidoking shifted.

"It's okay," Hermione said again, her voice soft. "It's alright. I'm not here to hurt you." She extended out her hand.

Everything was still. Hermione and Nidoking still stood apart a fair distance, though Harry knew that would mean nothing if Nidoking decided to attack. Across the room he could see Neville looking worried, peering out from behind the desk with Dewott at his side, ready to attack. Harry's grip on Charizard's Pokéball tightened.

But Nidoking wasn't attacking. Indeed he seemed calm and, as Hermione took another step forward, he let out a low rumble, dipping his head.

Then a red light burst from Hermione's belt.

"Bui! Bui!" It was as though Buizel had sensed the deadly presence of Nidoking nearby. But his appearance could not have come at a worse moment.

Nidoking roared. He slammed his fists angrily into the ground, his tail sending rubble flying, and he glared down on the girl before him. In one swift, precise movement Nidoking reached out and lifted Hermione into the air.

"Bui!" Buizel shouted in alarm.

"Hermione!" Neville cried. Water built up in Dewott's mouth. Harry cocked back his arm, ready to throw.

"Stop!" Hermione shouted and everyone froze. "All of you, stop moving. Leave this to me."

Harry froze, Charizard's Pokéball mere moments from leaving his grasp, while across the way Dewott's attack died in his mouth.

Only Buizel did not listen.

"Bui, bui!" He shouted angrily, waving his fists up at the much larger Nidoking. Harry imagined a translation would be for Nidoking to put his trainer down.

"Buizel, stop!" Hermione said firmly. "Stand down!"

Buizel looked violently opposed to the idea, still glaring up at Nidoking, but he did heed her words and fell silent. Hermione turned back to Nidoking, addressing him face to face.

"We don't want to fight you," she said, her voice very calm considering the circumstances. "We're not with those masked guys. You live here, don't you?"

Nidoking stared at her for a long moment before nodding. He let out a sorrowful note.

"You see, Harry, this is Nidoking's home," Hermione told him, still held high in the air. "He wasn't trying to attack us, he thought we were the ones attacking him. I imagine the other Death Eaters Malfoy sent to cut us off must have found him and Nidoking had to fight them off." Nidoking nodded again, though he couldn't possible have understood everything Hermione had said.

Yet he had certainly changed. No longer was he thrashing around, destroying everything in sight. He was more demure now and even his grip on Hermione was light.

Hermione reached out a hand and gently rubbed it against Nidoking's chin. The huge Pokémon let out a contented sigh, closing his eyes peacefully, before eventually they reopened and he lowered Hermione gently to the ground.

* * *

Their journey from that point on was incredibly quiet. Harry did not know about Malfoy, or what exactly had happened to Crabbe and Goyle Sr, but Nott, or rather his body, remained unresponsive. It seemed at least one of his classmates had lost their father tonight.

With no Death Eaters to bother them but also no guarantee that Malfoy had been taken care of Harry, Hermione and Neville had no choice but to continue onwards. At first Hermione had the idea that perhaps they could work their way back to the Hall of Prophecies, and from there retrace their steps back out of the Ministry, but they quickly came to the realisation that this level of the Ministry, whatever it was used for, was a maze. Though the Death Eaters had somehow made it to Nidoking's den there was no obvious signal as to which route they'd travelled to get there, and which route would ultimately lead back to the Hall of Prophecies, and though Harry, Hermione and Neville tried their best they were soon left wandering aimlessly, alone with Nidoking left behind.

As they walked they did not see any Death Eaters, Legion members or Ron, Ginny and Luna. They did, however, pass through room after room of some of the most bizarre things imaginable. In one room they found a whole herd of dancing Spinda. In another a weird energy field that caused them to move slower the faster they tried. They walked through portals in place of doors, passed a Sudowoodo pretending to be a tree and fooling no one, and required Pikachu's static to attract a swarm of Magnemite so they could make their way across a room.

Eventually they came to a room much larger than any since they'd left the Hall of Prophecies and immediately it felt significant.

"I don't think we are close to the Hall of Prophecies," Hermione said as she stepped down the rows of stone benches. "Though it's hard to tell in here. But if there is any structure in this place I imagine a big room like this must be close to that circular room at the beginning. And as you can see, we have a lot of options."

She was right. As the three of them reached the bottom of the stone benches and were able to look around the whole room they could see numerous doors spaced out along the edge. One of them was bound to lead back to the circular room.

"But which one?" Harry asked what all three of them were thinking. There were just too many options and if they took the wrong one they'd most likely get lost again, or worse, bump into the Death Eaters.

"Maybe it's a trick," Neville suggested. Their experience with this place so far made that almost a certainty. "Maybe we're not supposed to take the doors." He turned to look at the only thing left in the room, a huge stone archway from which dangled a ragged cloth.

"What are you thinking?" Harry asked curiously.

"Maybe this archway is something," Neville hypothesised. "I mean, it's not doing anything. Maybe it's really a portal."

"Hermione?" Harry asked. Hermione bit her lip.

"I don't know," Hermione said warily. "It is possible but I'm not sure I want to take the risk. We have no idea what it could do and if it really is a portal we have no idea where it might take us. This isn't like the Hoopa Rings, in that case we could see what was on the other side."

It was a valid point and it was probably a good idea to show caution. Yet the temptation to take the risk was so strong. They'd been walking around for so long, Harry just wanted to get out, get Neville and Hermione out of this mess and make sure Ron, Ginny and Luna were okay.

Tentatively, Harry reached forward to touch the cloth.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks very much for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

To Aoi Usa: Thanks for letting me know of the story. I'll be sure to check it out sometime as it sounds interesting, although of course it is disappointing it isn't finished.

To DelugeLeader 666: Thanks for the QOTD suggestion. I'm not going to use it yet but I am keeping a track of all these suggestions to use in later chapters. I like how you asked what normal type I'd be but didn't allow me to make myself a god and choose Arceus. I don't yet know the answer to that question myself so I'll have to have a real think on it before making that the QOTD.

For the QOTD in the last chapter there weren't very many responses, which I suppose was predictable considering people generally don't see much of themselves in bad people. For this chapter's QOTD I've decided to ask something that will require a little more creativity.

 _QOTD: If you were to arrange a challenge (like those shown in the chapter) what would it be like?_

I really want to see some creative responses here. It can be anything from a type of maze you have to get through or even a simple Pokemon battle. I particularly like the idea of a Mr Mime maze and I think running through a Trick Room room would be very disorientating.

So let me know your ideas and also what you think of the chapter and the story so far. I'll see you all in the next chapter.


	40. The Veil Of Giratina

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

"Step away, Potter." The rhythmic tapping of shoes on stone sounded and Harry, Hermione and Neville whipped around.

Lucius Malfoy was descending the steps behind them and he was in some state. His clothes were grubby and ripped, his face littered with scratch marks, and his hair was a dirty blond mess. Yet he was walking towards them without difficulty and three Pokéballs were displayed proudly on his belt.

"Seriously, Potter, neither you nor I want you to step through the Veil." Harry's eyes widened and he immediately stepped away from the arch, even though it took him closer to Malfoy. All of a sudden the innocently hanging curtain took on a much more menacing presence.

"So I see you are not completely stupid," Malfoy commented dryly. "Though I would have thought you'd have known better than to hang around."

Harry was thinking fast. Obviously this was a horrible position to be in. Malfoy was undoubtably among the strongest of all Death Eaters but, even so, he was alone. And he only had three Pokémon.

"Don't even think about it," Malfoy drawled, noticing the way Harry's eyes shifted to his belt. "I am more than a match for three Hogwarts students."

"Oh yeah," Harry challenged. Malfoy was strong but they had over a dozen Pokémon to work with.

"Yes," Malfoy said simply. "I know each and every Pokémon you and your friends possess, Potter, and I can assure you not one can take on my team."

"But all of them together can," Neville said bravely, stepping forward. "You can't beat us all."

In response Malfoy opened one of his Pokéballs and on instinct Harry, Hermione and Neville drew back as Malfoy's uniquely marked Serperior faded into being, curling around Malfoy's figure.

"You should watch yourself, Longbottom, you are in no position to make threats," Malfoy told him and his eyes flitted past the three of them and to the archway beyond. "Once through the Veil no one has ever returned. You don't have as many bargaining chips as you think." A loud bang sounded and Malfoy looked up, a soft smirk settling over his features. "And now you have one fewer."

Death Eaters poured into the chamber from high above, spilling out of one of the many doorways and spreading out around the room, cutting off all exits they could have used to escape. They'd been found and it appeared as though every Death Eater, those who had survived the chase at any rate, was present in the room.

They were trapped.

Lucius Malfoy smirked. "So, here we are, back where we started," he commented. "You've led us on a merry chase but time is up. So, Potter, kindly hand over that prophecy, and then your Pokémon."

Harry looked down at the glowing blue time plant in his hand, shockingly intact after all the drama that had led them there. What secrets it contained, the prophecy supposedly about him and Voldemort, Harry did not know, but if Voldemort wanted it so bad then Harry could not give it up.

Even so Harry stretched out his arm, time plant visible resting in the palm of his hand. He had no choice. There was no escape.

"You still ready to make a deal?" He asked. Tittering laughter echoed around the room.

Malfoy chuckled. "Why would I?" He questioned in amusement. "You made a run for it last time you came to me with an offer."

"Because you gave me the chance," Harry countered. "I know you won't do the same again. Make the deal."

"But why?" Malfoy asked. "You are surrounded, outnumbered and outgunned. Just what bargaining chip do you think you have?"

Harry dropped the time plant to the floor. It landed with a muffled thump at his feet.

"Let Hermione and Neville go," Harry told them and he raised his foot and gently rested it on the time plant. A soft rustle of the delicate plant caused the Death Eaters to shift nervously. "Let them leave in peace and I will give you the prophecy."

"Scum!" Bellatrix shouted down from up high but Malfoy raised a hand to silence her. He favoured Harry a considering look.

"Very well," Malfoy said coolly. "But if I were to let Granger and Longbottom go I'd need some sort of guarantee that you yourself will not try and escape in some heroic blaze of glory." Harry nodded.

"My Pokémon," Harry said, ignoring Hermione's moan of protest and Neville's shocked gasp. He unhooked his belt. "If you agree to let Hermione and Neville go I will send them away with my Pokémon. Once they leave I'll be alone. I won't be able to fight."

Malfoy considered the offer. "Deal."

Harry began to pull his belt loose. "How do they get out?" He asked.

"Harry, no," Hermione moaned but no one payed her any attention.

"The door over there," Malfoy gestured, and the Death Eater standing guard over it moved aside. "Follow the corridor beyond and you will find yourself in a room with a tank of Magikarp. One of the doors there leads directly to the entrance, and your way out." Harry hesitated.

"How do I know you are telling the truth?" He challenged. "Do you even know your way around?" Annoyance flashed across Malfoy's face. He scoffed.

"Of course I do, Potter," he told him. "Do you really think I would come here, to the Department of Mysteries, without first memorising the layout?" Harry still didn't look convinced. Malfoy sighed.

"This is called the Death Chamber," he told him in a monotonous drone. "Our battle earlier took us through the Hall of Prophecies, the Invisible Room, the Chamber of the Unown, and the office of Broderick Bode. And if that will not convince you that I know what I'm talking about then nothing will."

Harry considered him. He could be making things up, it wasn't like Harry knew the names of the rooms to fact check him, but given the nature of where they were, the Department of Mysteries, apparently, it seemed quite unusual for Malfoy to claim the room where they'd found Nidoking to be an office, especially since he'd never even entered it himself. Yet there had been a desk and a bookcase. Plus all the Death Eaters seemed to have had a good idea as to how to cut them off.

Harry turned to his friends.

"Go," he told them, holding out his belt. "Go now and get out of here."

"I'm not going anywhere," Hermione said crossly, pointedly refusing to accept the belt Harry stuck under her nose. "We're staying with you."

"Don't," Harry told her. "Please, just… just get out of here. Get safe. Try to find the others if you can, just _go_."

Hermione wasn't going to give up, looking ready to fight Harry on this to her dying breath, but she was distracted by a shifting figure in her line of sight. Bellatrix's Banette appeared before her, looking her hauntingly in the eye, and slowly Hermione's eyelids started to droop.

"Stop it!" Neville shouted, running forward and practically shooing Banette away, the Pokémon chittering with laughter as it retreated up the steps.

Hermione swayed unsteadily on the spot.

"Bella," Lucius said warningly, fixing a stern gaze to where the dark haired trainer stood, Banette now back at her side.

"What?" She said petulantly. "She wasn't going, was she."

Harry hated Bellatrix, hated just the idea of what Banette had done to Hermione, but on this occasion he couldn't deny that it helped him out enormously. He turned to Neville.

"You're in charge now," he told him, seeing both the fear and the determination in Neville's eyes as he shoved his belt towards him. Unlike Hermione Neville accepted it automatically. "Get Hermione out of here and get her safe."

"And what about you?" Neville asked. Harry hesitated.

"I'll see you later," he told him. He had no idea how he was going to do so, didn't see any sort of trick or stunt that he could pull to escape once Hermione and Neville were gone, but he wasn't quite ready to throw in the towel yet.

Neville seemed to realise that and it was exactly what he needed to hear. He hurried over to the barely conscious Hermione, supporting her weight as he started to make the long, laborious journey up the stone stairs.

A shuffling sound caught Harry's attention.

"Stop," he commanded and Neville did, though he wasn't the one Harry had been speaking to. Up somewhere behind him two Death Eaters had been making an attempt to unobtrusively leave the room, undoubtedly to try and ambush Hermione and Neville up ahead.

"You all must stay," Harry told them firmly. "Every Death Eater must remain in this room or the deal's off." He put some extra weight down on the time plant, the crackling sound echoing around the room.

Mr Malfoy gestured the Death Eaters back.

Harry felt sick. Every eye in the room was focused on him, waiting expectantly, and when Harry turned to Neville his voice shook slightly despite his efforts to keep it steady.

"Go," he instructed, looking his friend in the eye. Neville was pale, almost ghostly, and looked as though the last thing he wanted to do was leave Harry right now. But he knew he had to, Harry had instructed him to protect Hermione, and so, torturously, he turned and continued his journey up the stone steps.

And then two figures appeared, as if from nowhere, and no one quite seemed able to react. Lucius Malfoy, not able to see these new arrivals but noticing there was something most definitely off, turned, a frown on his face.

"Get away from my godson." And Sirius Black punched him straight in the mouth.

All hell broke loose. Even as Lucius Malfoy folded, collapsing to the ground in shock, and his Serperior hissed upon realising its trainer was under attack, the doors around the chamber burst open and in strode Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Remus Lupin and Tonks. And as they released their Pokémon the room erupted into pure chaos.

In amongst the sudden frenzy Harry threw himself forward, trying to put distance between himself and the Veil as he stood helpless in the middle of a terrible battle. Malfoy had recovered enough to fight back against Sirius, Serperior in mortal combat with Sirius's Gallade, and as the two men tussled Harry crawled along the ground in the vague direction of Neville, hoping he could reach him and join in the fight himself.

But even as Harry hurried along on all fours, trying to avoid attention, he found himself bowled over, knocked away by a large body that pinned him to the ground.

"Got you, Potter," the Death Eater snarled in Harry's ear and Harry tried to lash out, his arms trapped beneath his chest but his legs free, flinging out wildly as the much larger man struggled to keep him down.

As Harry fought he started to feel himself go faint. The man's incredible weight was pressing Harry into the ground and he could not breath, his ribcage meshed up against the stone floor. His resistance started to ebb away, darkness starting to creep into his vision and he fought desperately until, quite suddenly, the weight was gone and Harry flipped over onto his back, gasping gratefully for breath.

Trevor the Toxicroak stood over him, his dangerously sharp claw embedded into the Death Eater's gut, who gasped in pain. Trevor stared unblinkingly down at Harry.

"Harry!" Neville's voice caught his attention and Harry looked up in relief to see Neville standing nearby, still half supporting a dazed Hermione, his Venusaur standing guard and Harry's belt clutched in his free hand. "Catch!"

Neville's throw was awkward, unbalanced by Hermione's weight and the uneven steps he straddled, and Harry scrambled forward as his belt hung in the air between them. He couldn't reach it, Neville's throw was short, and so he threw himself forwards. Time seemed to slow down as he hung in the air, weightless, before his outstretched fingers caught hold of his belt strap triumphantly.

He hit the ground hard, the air knocked out of him, and his belt, too, clattered against the stone floor and, to his horror, one of his Pokéballs fell loose. He reached out to catch it, the Pokéball popping up in the air before him, but his fingertips could only brush agonisingly against the surface as the Pokéball, still minimised, bounced away through the chaos.

"Pikachu!" Harry shouted, for that's who it was trapped inside the Pokéball that was quickly spinning out of sight. He scrambled after it, crawling through the chaos on his hands and knees, relying on the distraction of the pitched battle to keep him safe as he hunted down Pikachu's Pokéball feverishly.

It was not easy and more than once Harry nearly came to a sudden end. A Serperior Vine Whip struck the ground before him, inches away from taking off his hand, and a belch of fire blew overhead, singing the hairs down the back of Harry's neck. He rolled to the right, dodging a falling rock from the ceiling above, and when he pulled himself up again he found himself face to face with Banette.

Fear froze Harry in place and the ghost type chittered down at him in what Harry could only describe as glee. He tried to move, to flee, but after only a second of meeting Banette's haunting gaze he started to become drowsy.

"Murk!

Harry blinked, an explosion nearby shifting some of the fog that had been filling his brain, and he looked up at the scene before him.

Murk the Murkrow, Mad-Eye's ever present companion, was fluttering overhead and as Harry watched he fired down another Night Shade attack, Banette skittering backwards defensively.

"Pikachu," Harry muttered, remembering just why he'd been down here in the first place. "Pikachu!"

"I've got him, Potter!" Moody's yell sounded over the chaos and Harry looked over to see the veteran auror in battle, standing back to back with his Conkeldurr and taking on three Pokémon at once. "Now stop lounging around and get into battle. Longbottom, on your six."

Straightening up, Harry surveyed the room.

It was an absolute mess. The stone steps that ran in rings around the room, once smooth and unblemished, were now chipped and damaged, in some places so much so that they were simply unusable. The walls were littered with burns and scratch marks and even the archway had taken some hits, though no one seemed willing to battle too close to it. All around people were engaged in battle, Death Eater versus Legion member, and somehow no one seemed to be paying him any attention at all.

Should he run, Harry wondered, and try to find the others? Hermione and Neville were fighting, though Hermione was still out of it. But surely Ron, Ginny and Luna must have been the ones to alert the Legion in the first place.

Then a glint of blue caught Harry's eye. The time plant holding the prophecy lay exactly where Harry had left it when the Legion arrived, completely undisturbed and, as Harry looked, no one seemed to notice it sitting there, ready for the taking.

"Talonflame, go!" Harry instructed, releasing his Quidditch partner who soared with practiced ease towards the time plant.

A blast of electricity cut him off, though this time Talonflame was ready for it, swerving to avoid the attack and swooping round to face off against his attacker. Malfoy's Eelektross slithered forward.

"Get the prophecy!" Malfoy commanded, unable to do so himself as he remained stuck in battle with Sirius, Gallade and Serperior proving worthy opponents for each other.

Eelektross shot forward and though Talonflame spat embers down from above a shocking jolt of electricity forced the flying type to dodge, unable to take Eelektross's attacks. And with Charizard also sharing that weakness Harry did not see how he was going to be able to stop Eelektross taking the prophecy.

A gust of wind rattled through the room, sand skittering as it went, and Harry flinched as Flygon shot past him, crying out as he bore down on Eelektross. Harry did not know if Hermione had come to, or if Neville had released the ground and dragon type, but he was grateful for his appearance as Eelektross recoiled, having no way to fight back against the Pokémon with such an overwhelming advantage.

"The prophecy!" The panicked screech caused Harry to jump and he looked around to realise why.

From the strength of Flygon's entrance a gust of air had rippled through the area around the archway and the prophecy, ostensibly light, had been picked up in the wind and was now spinning dangerously in the direction of the Veil.

Harry ran towards it. "Talonflame!" He shouted but even as Talonflame swooped towards the prophecy he was blocked off by the appearance of a Rhydon, forced to abandon his pursuit in the face of flying rocks and Harry, sprinting towards the spinning time plant, was flattened by Rhydon's trainer.

"Oof!" He gasped, surprised as he was knocked off his feet, eyes focused so much on the prophecy that he hadn't seen the Death Eater approach. The man grunted behind his mask, regaining his balance after the collision, and quickly Harry threw himself at his ankles to stop him.

Meanwhile the time plant spun ever closer to the Veil.

"Catch it!" Malfoy cried wildly and the Death Eater in Harry's grip lashed out. A solid boot smashed into Harry's face and Harry let go instinctively as his neck snapped backwards, stars dancing before his eyes as he tried to blink them away and clamber after his target.

The Death Eater was far ahead of Harry, there was no way he could catch him, but the prophecy was spinning tantalising next to the edge of the Veil. The Death Eater threw himself forward, one muscular hand wrapping around the prophecy in triumph, before his eyes widened in horror as his body slid across the smooth stone surface of the chamber.

Both he and the prophecy flew through the Veil and vanished from sight.

"No!" Bellatrix's screech was unholy and Harry could only watch in dismay as she pointed angrily down at him from on high, her eyes wild. "Banette, Curse!"

Harry stood and watched in horror as a sickly dark energy started to gather around Banette, seeming to suck in the surrounding light. The Pokémon looked pained, chittering non-stop, but then it focused its gaze on Harry and Harry felt true fear as the dark energy flew towards him.

At the last moment Harry was jerked to the side, the attack flying past, making him shiver as it struck the stone steps behind him sending stone shrapnel everywhere.

"Got ya," Sirius grinned and in a moment Harry allowed himself to forget the battle around him. Then Sirius looked up.

"Okay, so my psycho cousin wants to kill us," Sirius noted casually, his Gallade stepping in front of them protectively. "Nothing new there. And we've got Malfoy on the other side." Lucius Malfoy's Serperior had been left as the lesser threat and was now approaching unencumbered. "Where's Remus when you need him?"

Remus Lupin actually wasn't that far away, battling back to back with Tonks and supported by two Aggron, one of which Harry assumed had to be Tonks's Ditto transformed. Further away Neville continued to prop up Hermione, Venusaur, Trevor and Flygon protecting them, and not far from him Mad-Eye seemed to be closing in on the two Hogwarts students as Conkeldurr blasted through all that stood in his way. Up by the doors stood Kingsley, guarding the exit with his Slowking, fending off three Death Eaters at a time.

"I've got it," Harry said and, turning and allowing Sirius to focus all his attention on Bellatrix and Banette, he released Charizard.

Charizard appeared with the manner of a Pokémon having waited impatiently for so long, bursting free from his Pokéball with a roar that caught the attention of all and spewing fire at any who dared oppose him.

The battle raged on. Harry conducted Charizard and Talonflame in battle with Malfoy, the blonde trainer in a difficult position. His Eelektross had been unable to pull itself out of battle with Flygon, but instead Malfoy's Serperior was aided by the fallen Death Eater's Rhydon, the rock type looking confused but providing a stern test for Harry's two flying and fire types.

On the other side Sirius and Bellatrix were sparring back and forth.

"You can do better than that?" Sirius laughed as another attack was deftly countered by Gallade. "I think you've rather lost it, Bella. Come on, you weren't in Azkaban that much longer than me."

"Banette, Shadow Sneak!"

Sirius's demeanour changed in an instant.

"Gallade, no!"

Harry whirled around at Sirius's cry, and looked on in horror at the scene. Gallade had been struck, caught out by the priority attack, and, losing his balance, he started to fall.

It all seemed to pass in slow motion. Harry watched as Gallade's legs gave way, the fighting and psychic type staggering and tipping inexorably towards the ratty dark curtain hanging in the archway.

"Gallade!" Sirius cried and he threw himself forward as though to break the Pokémon's fall, though they never hit the ground. Sirius and Gallade fell through the archway and disappeared from view.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

To Aoi Usa: I suppose this chapter clears up what happened to Lucius. Crabbe and Goyle, however, nobody knows what happened to them, but I doubt it is anything good or that we'll be seeing them again. Nott is quite simply dead.

Thanks for the suggestions for tests you could make in the Pokémon world. I like the teleportation one, though I think it would need to have some way for you to be able to escape if you knew what you were doing.

This chapter's question of the day is going to be a big one.

 _QOTD: Which death in the Harry Potter series did you care about most?_

For me it would be Sirius, although Dobby is a close second. I think it is probably because you get to see the effect they had on Harry that made them feel more real while a lot of the others, particularly the ones that happened during the battle of Hogwarts, happened pretty much right at the end with no time for the characters to deal with the loss.

That said I also feel really sad that Remus died. Considering how he lost all his friends over the years and always struggled making a life for himself I feel like his death was perhaps even more tragic than Sirius's since it came right as the war was about to be over and he was so close to having the life he wanted with Tonks and Teddy only for it to be snatched away.

Anyway, now that I've made myself feel sad, what was the death that affected you the most? Leave your answers in the reviews.


	41. The Return Of Lord Voldemort

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Harry was frozen in shock.

"Sirius."

Bellatrix laughed.

"Shadow Ball, Banette," she crooned and Harry just stood there dumbly, not even considering the horrible attack that flew his way. His mind was blank, his body cold.

 _Sirius_.

"Abomasnow, go!" Remus's voice cut through the fog and Harry felt something shatter within him as the hulking form of Abomasnow appeared before him, taking the attack in his stead. All of a sudden the room came back to life, the volume almost seeming to turn up back to normal, and something stirred inside him.

She'd killed him, a small voice said in his head, as though in disbelief. She'd killed Sirius.

And then anger rose within him, fiery and spiteful.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Harry commanded, forgetting all about Serperior and Rhydon at his back and focusing all his anger and hate towards the woman laughing in front of him.

Bellatrix shrieked, though in laughter rather than pain, as she skipped away from the blasts of fire, laughing as she flounced her way up the stone steps, Banette chittering at her side.

"Shadow Ball, please," she instructed sweetly and Kingsley, having stepped out in an attempt to stop her, was forced to take cover behind his Slowking as the powerful ghost type attack slammed against his shields.

All the while Bellatrix continued on, looking unperturbed by the battles around her as she skipped up the last few steps and flounced over to the exit. She stopped in the doorway, looking back at the devastation she had left behind, and blew a mocking kiss before she and Banette disappeared from view.

Harry ran after her.

"Harry! No!" Remus cried, attempting to catch him but Harry slipped through the older man's grip, running up the stairs two at a time, unable to focus on anything but catching up with Bellatrix and making her pay.

Up ahead Charizard was blasting fire into the corridor indiscriminately but, from the echos of Bellatrix's maniacal laughter, she had found some way to block it.

Charizard only stopped his attack once Harry had caught up to him and immediately Harry went sprinting off after Bellatrix. The tunnel was smoulderingly hot as Harry followed the sounds of Bellatrix's laughter, Talonflame swooping in after him, leaving Charizard to scrabble and claw his way into the opening, the tunnel much too small to accommodate the enormous fire type Pokémon.

Up ahead Harry could just make out Bellatrix's silhouette in the light at the end of the tunnel as it suddenly disappeared and Harry sent Talonflame off after her, determined she could not get away.

He burst into the room beyond, sweat dripping from his brow, dirt and grime caking his features. The Magikarp tank was instantly noticeable, as Malfoy had promised, but it wasn't the only thing as Harry came to a sudden stop.

"Don't move, Potter," Bellatrix told him and, held in front of her as a human shield, sharp, deadly knife digging into her throat, was Ginny.

Bellatrix cackled. "Not so brave now, are you, Potter?" She smirked. "Now do everything I tell you and I might not slit little Red's throat."

Harry stayed completely still, fighting against his impulses as he felt the blood pound through his head. He'd already lost Sirius to this madwoman, he would not lose Ginny too. His eyes darted around the room.

There wasn't much for inspiration but a quick look did answer some of Harry's questions. Against the wall nearby leaned Ron, his face pained, both physically and emotionally it seemed as he looked rather battered and broken, watching his sister's situation with sheer panic in his eyes. In his arms slumped Luna, unconscious, though hopefully just that, a small trail of blood running from her forehead.

Out of the three Hogwarts students Ginny looked the most healthy, and despite her vulnerable position her eyes still burned with determination, though the fear in them was just as clear.

Harry stepped forward.

"Ah, what did I say about moving?" Bellatrix snapped, pointing her knife at him and stopping him in his tracks. "Another step and she dies." The knife returned to Ginny's throat.

Harry stayed perfectly still.

"What do you want?" Harry asked, trying to remain calm. He could not lose his cool now.

"For you to come with me," Bellatrix told him. "For you to walk away quietly, and accompany me to the Dark Lord." Harry swallowed.

"Then we can make a deal," Harry told her. "You let Ginny go and I come quietly."

"Harry don't." Bellatrix tightened her hold on Ginny as the redhead protested and she fell silent, terrified. Bellatrix smiled.

"He's such a sweet boy, isn't he, Red," she crooned. "So heroic, giving his life for yours." Bellatrix turned her attention to Harry. "Sirius would be so proud," she said, a malicious smirk on her face. "Giving yourself up for a damsel in distress. Like godfather, like godson."

Harry swallowed hard.

"Just let her go, Bellatrix," Harry said harshly, trying hard to hold on to the untethered ropes of his anger. "Let her go and I'll come quietly."

Bellatrix smiled. "No," she said, and she dug in the blade.

Ginny gasped, her eyes widening in shock, a small trickle of blood leaking out from beneath the knife, Bellatrix's eyes gleaming ecstatically.

"Wait, stop," Harry said, his voice a panic as he stepped forwards. Bellatrix's eyes flashed.

"You're moving, Potter," she hissed and Harry immediately stepped back as though burned. As hard as it was to watch Ginny be tortured like this he knew it would only be worse if he did not listen to what Bellatrix told him to do.

"I don't accept your deal, Potter," Bellatrix smirked, seemingly satisfied now that Harry had stepped back. "Unlike Lucius I won't allow you to dictate terms. Do as I say or Red faces the consequences."

Harry had no doubt she wasn't kidding. He nodded sharply.

"Good," she crooned. "First thing's first, return your Pokémon."

Talonflame had been hovering just a few feet away from him, like Harry brought up short by Bellatrix's hostage, and Harry quickly recalled him to his Pokéball.

"And Charizard?" Bellatrix questioned.

"Stuck in the Death Chamber," Harry told her. Why oh why had he not thought to return Charizard before he left. With Pikachu in Moody's possession all he had left to fight was Talonflame.

Bellatrix was smiling. "Good. Now take your belt, and throw it away." Harry had never got around to reattaching his belt, having carried it in one hand throughout his battles and his pursuit of Bellatrix. Now, reattaching Talonflame's Pokéball, he tossed it across the room.

The Magikarp in the tank glubbed away obliviously.

"Okay," Harry said. "I've given up my Pokémon. Now let her go and you can take me hostage instead." Bellatrix's mischievous grin put Harry on edge. "You can't take us both," he warned her. "The Legion will be here any minute. Just take me and no one will stop you."

There was silence for the longest time. Bellatrix seemed to be considering Harry's words carefully, as though expecting there to be some kind of ruse. But Harry had none, but for the tiniest sliver of hope that he might be able to delay Bellatrix long enough for the Legion to catch up.

"There's nothing I can do," Harry told her desperately. "I've given up my Pokémon. You've got Banette here somewhere, I assume." Banette was nowhere in sight but Harry doubted it wasn't present. "I'm surrendering. A full surrender." And Bellatrix seemed to believe him.

"Hands where I can see them," she snapped and Harry quickly lifted them into the air. "Step forward slowly. _Slowly_."

Harry did so and he started to wonder if Bellatrix was somehow worried about him overpowering her. He was about the same size, his shorter stature made up for by his broader shoulders, and he was in reasonably good shape. Was she worried he might turn the knife on her?

Whatever it was she was worried about she was proceeding very cautiously, but unfortunately for her she was focusing on the exact wrong target. As Bellatrix brought her knife from Ginny's neck to point at Harry instead, blood dripping slowly from the blade, her grip on the girl was weakened and Ginny lashed out.

"Ah! Bitch!" Bellatrix screamed in rage, looking down almost disbelievingly at where Ginny had kicked her violently in the shin. "Skank!" The red head had fallen away from Bellatrix upon separation, stumbling and crawling away as Ron, pushing past Luna's dead weight, moved to release a Pokémon. "Get back here!"

"Beldum!"

A flash of blue whizzed by, catching everyone by surprise and Bellatrix square in the stomach. Her eyes widened comically as she stumbled backwards, Beldum continuing to push to prevent her from regaining her balance.

And then Beldum began to glow.

"Metang!" The evolved Pokémon cried as Bellatrix finally found her feet, kicking out at the Pokémon and slashing her knife dangerously, though the weapon only glanced harmlessly off Metang's steely body. With crazed eyes Bellatrix stepped forward.

A roar stopped her in her tracks. From behind them the latest arrival made its appearance as Charizard poked his head through the doorway, having scrabbled and clawed his way down the whole length of the corridor. Charizard hooked his claws through the doorway, pulling his upper body into the light, and, seeing Bellatrix standing before him, knife held dangerously in her hand, he let loose a blast of fire.

Bellatrix leapt back, the fire scorching a path across the room, separating it in two, Harry and the others on one side, Bellatrix trapped on the other.

Bellatrix watched for a moment, her countenance growing worryingly calm, and she caught Harry's gaze through the flames. With a small, satisfied smirk, Bellatrix opened up the door beside her, and left.

Harry could barely wait for the flames to die.

"Harry, what?"

But Harry didn't hang around long enough to answer Ron's question, quickly scooping up his belt and, once the fire was mere embers scorching the ground, making for the doorway, pointing a Pokéball back at Charizard. "Charizard, return."

He left behind his friends, hurrying quickly through the door he'd seen Bellatrix leave by, and found himself back in the circular room once more. Fortunately he didn't have to check all the doors to find the way out, Bellatrix hadn't bothered to close it behind her, and he could hear her voice in the corridor beyond, laughing her way to freedom.

"I killed Sirius Black," she chanted and Harry rushed after her, entering the corridor just as Bellatrix walked into a waiting elevator. She smirked when she saw him and blew a kiss as the elevator doors started to close.

"Talonflame, Fire Blast!" Harry shouted and Talonflame burst forth, streaming down the length of the corridor with a war cry, a five pronged blast of flame scorching its way before him, reaching Bellatrix and the elevator just as the elevator doors clanged shut.

"Come on," Harry muttered impatiently, jabbing at the button to call for the lift and ignoring the heat the metal door was emitting. The elevator returned a few moments later, and with Bellatrix noticeably absent Harry hurried inside, Talonflame swooping after him and landing on his shoulder. Harry pressed the button for the atrium.

"When the doors open you need to move fast," Harry said hurriedly to Talonflame, looping his belt back into his trousers. "She'll have a head start on us. You'll need to slow her down until me and Charizard can catch up." Harry grabbed hold of Charizard's Pokéball, practically able to feel his partner Pokémon waiting inside.

The elevator dinged. The doors opened. Talonflame soared free and Harry ran after him, Charizard's Pokéball at the ready.

Wham!

Something hard collided viciously with Harry's hand and Charizard's Pokéball went flying from his grasp. It soared through the air, landing many meters away with a loud clatter, then it lay still.

Harry did not go after Charizard's Pokéball. He knew he'd never get there.

Lord Voldemort stood before him, standing clear as day in the empty Ministry atrium, his eyes watching him with a cool yet satisfied look. The look of a man knowing he had his enemy beat.

"Harry Potter," he spoke, his cold voice shattering the silence. "We meet again."

Harry did not say anything in response. He could not. He could only watch with a sickening feeling in his stomach as the Arbok, Nagini, slithered across the marble floor to her master's side. Standing at Voldemort's back was Bellatrix, smirking triumphantly, Banette at her feet. The soft beat of wings signalled Talonflame's return to Harry's side.

At least he was not totally alone.

Voldemort surveyed Harry with interest, as though surprised by his silence. "No words, Potter?" He asked. "I remember you had rather a lot to say when last we met. Just where is that Gryffindor bravery?"

Harry swallowed. He had none. He was trapped. Though standing in an open space, a space where anyone could happen upon him and help, he was there with the worst two people he could imagine. There was nothing he could do. Fight and he'd surely lose. Run and he would surely lose Charizard. Terror at that thought kept him rooted to the spot.

Voldemort looked disappointed. "What did you do to him, Bella?"

"Nothing, my lord, as you commanded," Bellatrix said gleefully. "My traitor cousin on the other hand…" A cruel smile spread across Voldemort's face.

"Ah, I see," he smirked. "You cared for the convict Black, didn't you? So foolish. You should know by now that the more people you care for the more vulnerable you become."

Harry clenched his teeth, hating every word for the one simple fact that it was all true. Had it not been for his grief he wouldn't have been here. Had it not been for Sirius's death he wouldn't have been so close to seeing him again.

Voldemort looked amused. "Well, we don't have all day," he said casually. "Bella, do you have the prophecy?" Bellatrix's gleeful expression turned into a snarl.

"He destroyed it, my lord. Potter." She spat. "He threw it through the Veil, my lord." Voldemort's face was a stone cold mask.

"Is that true?" He asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

It wasn't true, of course, but it was close enough that there was no point correcting him. Harry nodded.

"Do you understand what you have done?" Voldemort pressed, suppressed anger leaking out of every word. At his feet Nagini hissed.

Harry shook his head.

"So you did not hear the prophecy then," Voldemort surmised, looking at Harry as though he was a puzzle. "You did not witness the memory of the time plant."

Harry shook his head again.

Voldemort seemed disappointed. "Very well," he said. "I was planning on torturing the prophecy out of you but if you do not know… And what does it matter? Once you are dead the prophecy will be worthless. And maybe once I've finished with you and conquered this world I can take Giratina's realm too and find that prophecy once more. But for now… Nagini, kill him."

Nagini coiled up and sprang forward.

"Ho-oh!"

Burning flames erupted between them, so hot that even Harry, filled with the freezing frost of despair and grief, flinched backwards. On the other side Nagini drew back, hissing indignantly, and as one all eyes moved upwards as Fawkes the Ho-oh soared overhead.

"You shouldn't have come here tonight, Tom."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "Dumbledore."

Albus Dumbledore walked calmly into view, looking like this was no more unusual an occurrence than going down for breakfast each morning. He did not flinch as Voldemort and Bellatrix turned to him, ignoring Harry completely, and stopped a short distance away.

"Yes, it is I," Dumbledore announced calmly, his tone in stark contrast to the venomous looks he was receiving and the greedily burning fire that still blockaded Harry from Voldemort's path.

"So you decided to show yourself," Dumbledore said conversationally. Fawkes circled high above him. "Undoubtedly you must have become aware of the calamity your attempted mission had become and thought it best to step in."

"If you want something done right then do not entrust it to someone else," Voldemort said with narrowed eyes.

"An attitude I find neither healthy nor helpful," Dumbledore told him. "It has long been apparent, Tom, that trust is among your greatest of weaknesses. You have none in your followers and so limit yourself to only what _you_ can achieve. Tom…"

"Stop calling me that name," Voldemort spat angrily. "I discarded that name long ago when I discarded the man who gave it to me. I outgrew the name, transcended it, and become powerful and strong as Lord Voldemort."

"That might be the way you see it," Dumbledore said sadly. "But I've seen young men waste themselves in pursuit of the superficial and the needless. I know what it looks like. Never forget that I was there in the beginning, Tom."

"But you will never see the end!" Voldemort shrieked in outrage. "There will be no end. I will live. Forever! And you, Dumbledore, will die." And Nagini, who had been slithering up silently towards Dumbledore, body pressed flat to the ground, pounced.

Harry tried to shout a warning but it did not matter as Dumbledore miraculously disappeared on the spot. It was only when the aged man reappeared, this time on the other side of the atrium, that Harry spotted the Alakazam that had appeared at his side.

"I see," Dumbledore said softly, even as Voldemort and Bellatrix whirled around to face him. "If that's the way it's got to be." And he looked up and inclined his head.

Fawkes soared down onto the battlefield, fire billowing everywhere, and Nagini hissed and writhed, dodging the Ho-oh's attempts to catch her and twisting between the bursts of flame that issued from the legendary Pokémon's feathers.

Across the way Dumbledore's Alakazam found himself waylaid by Bellatrix's Banette, the ghost type holding him back as he attempted to close in on an infuriated, and vulnerable, Voldemort.

Meanwhile, Harry saw his chance. Charizard's Pokéball was left well alone, unnoticed in the drama of Dumbledore's arrival, and Harry ran for it, somewhere in the back of his mind realising that they had, perhaps, an opportunity, an incredible one, to capture Voldemort himself. If only Harry could call on Charizard for help.

"Ah ah, no you don't Potter." Harry didn't see Bellatrix, hadn't realised she'd noticed his break for it, but he did notice when a beam of red light cut in front of him and a Pokémon appeared in his path, stopping him in his tracks.

It was a Mawile, and it struck him silly for the sheer fact that he had not realised, until now, that Bellatrix had more than one Pokémon. It stood before him, looking up at him innocently, and Harry had no idea what to do.

"Talon!"

Fortunately Talonflame kept his wits about him and, as Harry slowed to a stop, Talonflame soared past him, eyes on Charizard's Pokéball.

Harry only had the briefest of warnings, as Mawile's eyes narrowed, of what was about to happen. As Talonflame flew overhead, keeping some distance, but not much, from the steel and fairy type, Mawile launched itself into the air, revealing a set of concealed jaws which bit down sharply, causing Talonflame to cry out in pain.

"Talonflame!" Harry shouted, running forward, and Mawile quickly released its prize and met him halfway. Mawile's Iron Head attack struck him in the midriff and caused him to crumple, all the air forced from his lungs.

A battle was going on around him, Harry not able to see but able to hear instead the cries of Talonflame and Mawile exchanging blows as he struggled to recover from Mawile's attack. He was able to pull himself up onto all fours, coughing, and as he did so he spotted Charizard's Pokéball.

It was only a matter of feet away and Harry's pulse quickened. Glancing round he saw Talonflame occupying Mawile's attention, firing down attacks and staying just out of reach of Mawile's powerful jaws.

Harry made a break for it. Rising to his feet he took the couple of steps needed before he threw himself at Charizard's Pokéball, grasping it firmly in his hand.

A mere moment later Harry was bowled over, a destructive force crashing into him and knocking him to the ground. Harry tried to wriggle free, twisting and turning and flinching back as Mawile's jaws came mere millimetres from snapping in his face. An Ember attack from Talonflame gave him some space and, ignoring the burning of the fire on his skin, Harry fought free and delivered a vicious kick, knocking Mawile back, before opening Charizard's Pokéball.

Charizard rose again and Harry collapsed back to the ground, gratefully leaving it to Charizard as he felt every single bump and bruise, burn and cut he'd received that night and lay empty on the ground. The familiar heat of Charizard comforted him, the war cry of Talonflame told him he was safe, and Harry closed his eyes wishing it could all be over.

"Oh my word," a high pitched voice sounded, so out of place that it caused Harry to open his eyes and sit up. "What's going on here?"

Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Pokémon, was looking wide eyed at the devastation that encompassed the whole atrium. He looked tiny and ridiculously out of place, dressed in a dressing gown of all things, but the men behind him were alert.

Auror Dawlish stepped forward.

"It's him," he gasped, sounding more expressive than Harry had ever heard him. "You-know-who." Then his eyes narrowed. "Aurors, get him!"

Voldemort hissed in rage. "Nagini." The poison type pounced, spraying deadly toxins in the direction of the approaching aurors and forcing them into a defensive formation. With a jerk of the head Voldemort directed Bellatrix to him, Nagini slithering to his side as Banette and Mawile disentangled from their battles to join their trainer.

The group retreated, backing up against the wall, and from across the room Harry and Voldemort's eyes met. Then, a moment later, Voldemort, Bellatrix, and their Pokémon, were gone.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed.

Thanks to those of you who answered the question of the day. It seems like Sirius, Fred and Dobby were the most impactful deaths and I have to say I'd agree with that. Reading the reviews reminded me of just how many main characters actually died, which was more than a bit depressing, but it just goes to show how good the books are that we cared so much about these characters dying, even some like Colin who didn't really have much of the limelight.

 _QOTD: What is your favourite legendary Pokémon?_

Given Fawkes's arrival and the effect of the veil of Giratina this seemed like a good time to ask this question.

For me it is Rayquaza. I've never caught or even battled a Rayquaza in any Pokémon game before but it is just such a cool looking Pokémon. Its shiny is amazing and the fact that it can Mega Evolve without a Mega Stone and it has its own signature move just adds to how incredible this Pokémon is.

Saying that I would also give credit to Mewtwo as well. Its story is just heartbreaking and in my mind the first Pokémon movie with him in it is still the best after all this time.

So, what do you think? Which is your favourite legendary? Let me know in the reviews.


	42. Two Prophecies

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The atrium erupted, so much noise that Harry couldn't pick any of it apart. His head was spinning, his eyes closing to block out the now painful light, though it was no brighter than it had been before. He felt Charizard and Talonflame settle nearby, his faithful partners knowing to give him some space, low growls indicating they were ensuring others would too.

And through all the haze and confusion a hand found its way to Harry's shoulder and he looked up into the face of Albus Dumbledore, his eyes showing sadness and something else, something Harry couldn't quite place.

"It's time to go," he said. Harry just blinked at him. Dumbledore seemed to understand anyway. He returned Harry's Pokémon for him, purposefully attaching the Pokéballs back to Harry's belt, much to his relief, and helped the boy to his feet.

"Alakazam will take you to my office," Dumbledore told him. "Please wait for me there. There is much we need to discuss." Harry found himself nodding but he knew he hadn't heard a word. A moment later he was gone, leaving the busy atrium behind, and he stood alone in Dumbledore's silent office.

The sudden quiet was jarring and he found himself looking around the room. He didn't take anything in, though. His mind was blank, his senses feeling as though they'd been filled to the brim such that anything new just slid straight off.

After a while he became aware of the tiredness in his legs. He sat down. Not on a chair, just right where he had been standing. He sat there, on the floor in Dumbledore's silent office, and waited.

Who knew how long he sat there. He didn't even know Dumbledore had arrived until he stood over him, his eyes sad in a way Harry had never seen before. It would have been startling to see this emotion directed at him, at least it would have been on any other day. But as Dumbledore looked down at him Harry just stared back up.

"Harry," Dumbledore breathed and just the mention of his name kicked something inside him back to life. "I cannot begin to explain how sorry I am for what happened tonight."

Harry stayed silent. It wasn't like it was Dumbledore's fault. He hadn't rushed down to London with faulty information and a traitor in his midst. He hadn't forced Sirius to come rescue him. The fault for that rested on Harry, and Harry alone.

Dumbledore sighed. "I can't undo what has been done," he said. "And I cannot heal that aching hole in your heart. The least I can do is tell you the truth, and explain just why what happened happened tonight." Again Harry said nothing. "Perhaps you would join me at my desk?" Dumbledore held out a hand.

Harry contemplated it, taking a moment to realise just what Dumbledore was asking. Then he wondered if he could be bothered. What did it matter? At the desk, on the floor, it was all the same. Yet a small part of him, the part that still respected the Headmaster above all else, prompted him into action and he found himself pulled to his feet by a surprisingly strong grip. He was guided to the desk, falling numbly into the offered seat, and watched without feeling as Dumbledore rounded the desk.

Alakazam appeared briefly, silent communication between him and the Headmaster, before he was gone, and within a few moments he was back again. Held in his hand a time plant glowed and Harry felt a sickening in his stomach as his eyes followed it from Alakazam's fingers onto the desk before him.

"If you'll excuse me, we'll be needing…" Dumbledore trailed off, Harry's eyes having not even flickered up towards him as he spoke. He was surprised, therefore, when something touched his knee and he looked down. A small, bipedal, black and blue Pokémon looked up at him with sorrowful eyes.

"This is Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon," Dumbledore explained. "Riolu have the ability to sense emotion, through the power of aura, and for this young Riolu he endeavours to comfort when those around him are in need of it." Harry turned away. He could not stand to be comforted. He shouldn't feel comfort. That was not an emotion suitable for this moment.

"Riolu's ability is also imperative for what I'm about to show you," Dumbledore continued. "You know about time plants but what you may not be aware of is how difficult they are to use. Strong emotions can call upon certain memories but to pick and choose what to view we need help from an aura user, such as Riolu."

Harry nodded. He understood. "So what are you going to show me?" Dumbledore looked at him sadly.

"The reason," he said, "for all of this." He sighed heavily.

"Prophecy," he said, his voice tired. "Such a hard thing to nail down. But true prophets exist. And, despite appearances, we have one in our very own Professor Trelawney." Harry blinked. "This first memory is from two years ago. Riolu, if you would."

Riolu nimbly leapt up onto Dumbledore's desk, his paws making barely a sound on the hard wood of the desk top, and he focused on the time plant. Closing his eyes his ears lifted upwards, as though caught in an unseen wind, and he stretched out a paw towards the time plant. At the slightest touch the time plant pulsed and a blue light projected across Dumbledore's office.

They were in Professor Trelawney's classroom. That wasn't particularly surprising. What was surprising was that Harry was there, too. Not Harry, the person sitting at Dumbledore's desk, but Harry, the thirteen year old sitting across the table from Professor Trelawney, sitting his third year Fortune Telling exam, an exaggeratedly thoughtful expression on his face.

"And so we have a Chansey card, that means happiness and healing," the thirteen year old version of Harry said, looking up nervously as Trelawney pursed her lips.

"But not this time," he said hurriedly, scrambling visibly for something to say. "Eh, no, since you also have the eh… the Exeggcute card, that means it's got to do with the egg, uh, eggs. Yeah, you'll be allergic to eggs." Young Harry looked hopefully up at Trelawney.

"Well done," she told him in a mystical voice, smiling down at him as though he were a simpleton. "I admit I worried you did not understand the art of sight, but your application has been wonderful to see. Run along now. I fear lunch will already be in progress when you arrive."

Thirteen year old Harry simply looked glad to finally be leaving and he muttered a halfhearted goodbye as he descended through the trap door and out of sight.

Left alone to her own devices Professor Trelawney set about tidying up, gathering the tarot cards together and humming a tune to herself as she shuffled. Her Bronzor, who had been hovering over her shoulder whilst she examined, floated around the table happily, eyes closed and bobbing to the tune.

Suddenly Professor Trelawney's hands froze in place. Her tune stopped. She went complete still.

Then she started to shake. Her breathing became ragged, coming out in short, sharp pants as her whole body trembled. Then she let out a loud gasp, her eyes flying open, wild and unseeing, before she started to speak in a deep, guttural rasp.

"It will happen tonight. The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight… the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever before. Tonight… before midnight… the servant… will set out… to rejoin… his master…"

Trelawney gasped. The cards in her hands fell loose, spilling out onto the table, and she rocked forward in her chair.

"Oh my," she said, her voice back to normal, though somewhat overwhelmed. "My, what…?" Her eyes widened. "A prediction! It must be! Bronzor, did I make a prophecy?" Bronzor shook his head.

Professor Trelawney looked deeply disappointed. "I had thought, maybe… never mind. Just look at this mess." And as Sybil Trelawney started to gather up her spilled tarot cards she, and her classroom, faded from view.

"As you and I both know Bronzor was mistaken," Dumbledore said. "That very night you would learn the truth about what happened to your parents, and Peter Pettigrew went free. Free to return to his master."

Harry remembered. Harry remembered as if it were yesterday the night his whole world flipped upside down. He remembered meeting Sirius for the first time, being ready to kill him to exact revenge for his parents before discovering his innocence, and he remembered when he said goodbye that night atop the tallest tower.

Harry cleared his throat hoarsely. "So, is that how they work?" He asked. "Prophecies? Do they just come true like that?" Dumbledore hesitated.

"That is unknown," he told him. "There are several schools of thought. Some believe that all prophecies come true, if not always in the obvious way. For example, if you had heard this prophecy first hand you would have suspected Sirius to be who it spoke of. However there are many prophecies, even those held at the Ministry, that people would argue have never come to fruition. It is possible that seers just see one path, maybe the most likely, but not necessarily the only."

"So you're saying the prophecy could have been stopped?" Harry asked.

"Perhaps," Dumbledore told him. "I only found out about the prophecy in the days that followed. Had I known I might have been able to change things. On the other hand it may simply have been fate that I didn't check in on Professor Trelawney that day."

"Why were you looking up on her anyway?" Harry asked. "What even made you think she would make a prophecy? Everyone thinks she's a hack, and I've never seen her act like that before." Dumbledore looked at him sadly.

"Professor Trelawney has a track record when it comes to making predictions," Dumbledore said sorrowfully. He turned to Alakazam. "If you could please return this to Sybil's quarters? Thank you." Alakazam picked up the shimmering time plant and disappeared. He did not return.

"Professor Trelawney has, to my knowledge, made a grand total of two real predictions," Dumbledore told Harry. "What you saw was the most recent, and the reason I've been recording is due to the first, made sixteen years ago, mere months before you were born." And Dumbledore reached into his pocket and pulled out another time plant.

"It is that prophecy that Voldemort attempted to get his hands on tonight," Dumbledore told him. "And that prophecy which I feel you have the right to know."

Harry frowned. "But it's gone," he said. "We can't use it, it went through the…" his mouth closed quickly and he fell silent. He swallowed hard.

Dumbledore watched him, his eyes tired and dull. "Harry?" He said gently. Harry shook his head.

"Keep talking," he said thickly. "I have to know." Maybe if he learned what was contained in that prophecy he could fool himself into believing that Sirius's death actually meant something.

Dumbledore nodded slowly.

"The time plants in the Hall of Prophecies are records," Dumbledore told him. "That is to say they are not real time plants. They are not natural but created, designed to hold a single memory which can be copied from real time plants, which the Ministry issue to as many registered seers as they can. For some reason Professor Trelawney was not recognised until I flagged her up. Fortunately there was someone else present to witness her prophecy, someone with a time plant for the record. Me."

Harry didn't say anything in response, looking down at the time plant on the desk. So, after all this time, the prophecy had been with Dumbledore all along, protected in such a way that not even Voldemort would go after it.

"If I could… just set the scene, a bit," Dumbledore said cautiously. "The war was raging, times at their worst during the course of Voldemort's first uprising, and I was on the hunt for a Fortune Telling professor. Options were… limited, and so I entertained Sybil Trelawney, though her resume was lacking, for an interview, in the hope that she may, in fact, have some of her grandmother's talent. I met her in the Hog's Head, quieter and easier to manage than the Three Broomsticks."

"Plus the barman's your brother." Dumbledore looked surprised. Harry wished he hadn't said anything. It was Sirius that had told him that.

"Well, quite," Dumbledore recovered. "Anyway, I took Sybil up to a private parlour and we talked. And that is where we will pick up from." Dumbledore nodded to Riolu and once again the Emanation Pokémon focused, ears billowing, and blue light flashed across the room.

The scene was very different. The Hog's Head was not as popular as the Three Broomsticks and it showed in the poor quality of the furnishings. Furthermore the weather outside was abysmal, rain lashing against the window and wind whistling past. It couldn't have been more dissimilar to the last scene.

And yet there was Trelawney, wrapped up in her shawls, looking a lot younger than Harry had ever seen her. Bronzor was there too, looking no different than before, and neither did Dumbledore, sitting opposite his future employee.

He didn't look particularly impressed.

"Tell me, does your grandmother Cassandra have any thoughts on you applying for this job?" Harry could tell he was fishing for some sort of expert opinion on her abilities. "The two of us go back quite a bit but I'm ashamed to admit we've somewhat drifted apart."

Trelawney didn't seem to realise the interview wasn't going well. She looked completely at ease. "I'm afraid I have not spoken with my most farsighted of relatives," she said mystically. "On this or any other earthly matter recently, but I know I have her approval. I…" and then she stopped.

Harry recognised the symptoms immediately as Trelawney started to shake and Dumbledore, too, seemed to realise what was going on, straightening up and looking interested for the first time during the interview.

And then Trelawney spoke, her voice raspy and hoarse, and Harry listened intently.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…"

There was a scuffling sound at the door, followed by raised voices, and though present day Dumbledore turned towards the door both Harry and past Dumbledore continued to watch Trelawney.

"… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live whilst the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"

There was silence in the room, the only noise coming from the rain of sixteen years ago. Then Trelawney gasped.

"Dear lord, what happened?" She asked, sounding alarmed.

"Are you alright, my dear?" Dumbledore asked politely, though his mind was clearly elsewhere. Trelawney stared at him.

"Did I do it?" She asked, her voice tense with anticipation. "Did I… prophet?" There was a pause.

"No," Dumbledore said eventually. "No, I'm sorry, I believe you may have blacked out for a moment. Here, have some tea, you'll feel better." And the scene faded.

"I had a lot to think about," Dumbledore said eventually. "But first I needed to decide what to do with Sybil. My first thought was to let her go, seeing as she had no recollection of what she'd foretold, but you undoubtedly noticed the eavesdropper." Harry met Dumbledore's eye. "Yes, he was a Death Eater, and though Aberforth caught him early he still heard some of the prophecy and I knew he would go straight to Voldemort. So, for her safety, I hired Sybil Trelawney and she's been at the castle ever since."

Silence fell between them. Harry was working hard to get his head together, and it seemed Dumbledore was prepared to wait.

"The label had my name," Harry said eventually. "Born to parents who had thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies?"

"Your parents were working for the Legion by this point and had, as stated in the prophecy, defied Voldemort three times," Dumbledore told him. "When I received word of your birth, on the very last day of the prophecy, I immediately convinced James and Lily to go into hiding."

"But you said that prophecies aren't always right," Harry protested. "You told me -"

"I was not about to take chances," Dumbledore said firmly. "As I said, the war was at its worst and even hope of a saviour was worth protecting."

"So you think that's it?" Harry asked. "That I'm the saviour, the 'one with the power to vanquish'. You think I have to kill him. Either that or no one can."

"Harry, please, stay calm," Dumbledore said quietly.

"Stay calm?" Harry repeated incredulously.

"Yes, stay calm," said Dumbledore. "We won't get anywhere unless we can think rationally. As for the prophecy who knows whether it is true or not but know one thing, Harry. You are a smart, powerful, principled young man and, prophecy or not, you will not stand by while Voldemort spreads fear and terror. You do not have the ability to sit back and do nothing whilst atrocities are being committed. And quite frankly this prophecy will likely come true if for no other reason than the fact that Voldemort believes you to be his potential downfall and will not rest until he kills you, much like you will not rest until he is defeated." Harry didn't say anything. "Tell me I'm wrong, Harry. Tell me you'd just let Voldemort be and then we can talk about destiny."

Harry couldn't, of course he couldn't. Dumbledore had him pegged right down to his socks. It was just who he was, for better or for worse. When he'd thought the Sacred Ash was in danger he had gone down after it. When Ginny was taken to the Chamber of Secrets he'd gone in after her, even after he'd been separated from Ron and Hermione he'd continued on without thinking twice.

It didn't make things easier. The fact that Dumbledore had come out and said it, told him that Voldemort wouldn't rest until he was dead, sickened every pore of Harry's body. Even after so many encounters death by Voldemort's hand had never seemed so inevitable. But one must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. Harry swallowed.

"So, Voldemort," Harry said, his voice cracked. "He believes in the prophecy?"

"In the small part he knows, yes," Dumbledore told him. "Not knowing the rest I imagine has been a major annoyance, especially with each encounter that passes with you emerging unscathed."

"And who does know?" Harry asked. "How many people know the full prophecy?"

"Just two," Dumbledore said simply. "Me, and you."

"You haven't told anyone?"

"The part Voldemort knows has been shared with the most trusted of Legion members," Dumbledore told him. "Alastor, Professor McGonagall, Kingsley… but prophecies are tricky, easy to misinterpret, and may not even mean anything at all. I tell you this, Harry, not to teach you of some destiny laid out for you, but to help you understand how you came to be in the middle of this war. I don't know what's in store, you could very well defeat Voldemort for all I know, but in the meantime I'm not going to stop trying."

Silence hung in the air between them. Harry shifted uncomfortably.

"So you think the prophecy is nonsense," Harry concluded.

"I have no idea," said Dumbledore. "But we should bare in mind that Voldemort does not, so it would be unwise to ignore it completely."

Harry nodded. "Okay, then there's some stuff I don't understand. The prophecy said he'd mark me as his equal."

"Not so much in the physical sense of a mark," Dumbledore said. "No scar or label. The marking in this instance is Voldemort's choice. You weren't the only candidate for the prophecy, Harry. Your friend Neville had parents in the Legion too, and was also born at the end of July."

"So Neville…"

"Wasn't marked," said Dumbledore. "Voldemort had options for who he believed to be the one destined to defeat him and he chose you. He singled you out and, in doing so, admitted to himself that you were the one with the ability to one day defeat him. Had he heard more of the prophecy he might have been more circumspect. After all, his attempts to prevent the prophecy left him without a body for thirteen years."

"And this power he knows not, what is that? Is it something I can use? Is it Mega Evolution?" Harry scrambled.

"It is something altogether more powerful than mere Mega Evolution, and you use it every single day," Dumbledore told him. "It is love."

"What?"

"Something you have that the Dark Lord does not?" Dumbledore said. "You saw what happened at the Ministry. Voldemort's inability to trust even his top lieutenants nearly led to his capture, after a whole year of fooling people into believing he wasn't there."

"But how does that help me?" Harry asked. "I've never been in love."

"But you have loved," said Dumbledore and his eyes grew teary. "And it isn't just Sirius, it is everyone around you. Your friends, the innocent, your capacity to love them is incredible and a power you'll likely never fully be able to understand."

Harry didn't understand. Love? How could love help against the Death Eaters? Unbidden flashes of the night came to him, memories of himself surrendering to the Death Eaters for the sake of his friends. Was that what Dumbledore meant?

Dumbledore shifted, his gaze moving to the clock on the wall. "It's late," he said. "And after the events of the day we all need some rest. I'll leave you to think about what we discussed here tonight. And if you ever need me, to talk or to ask a question or even just to argue, just let me know and I will be there."

Harry nodded stiffly. He did not see how he was ever going to take up that offer. The only one Harry wanted to talk to was gone.

He turned to leave then hesitated. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "I left Pikachu with Moody."

"I will ensure he gets here safely," Dumbledore promised. Harry nodded, paused, and then left Dumbledore's office.

* * *

The castle was dark, not a light to be found, but even so Harry's eyes adjusted quickly. Dumbledore's office had been dark too. He started his way back.

It was a bizarre feeling to be walking the castle halls at night, at least so openly. Usually late night excursions involved a lot of sneaking around but now Harry walked purposefully, even the video cameras present not causing him pause. Let them stop him. See how that works out for them.

He paid no mind to where he walked, he could be going anywhere for all he knew. The only thing he was conscious of was the rush of thoughts flowing through his head.

Love. The Prophecy. Trelawney. Voldemort. Sirius…

And that was it, wasn't it. It was with painful irony that Harry remembered the first time he'd heard about the Veil, talking to Professor Lupin in the wake of the announcement that that would be Sirius's punishment. He'd once thought Sirius deserved it. Now he was the one to have pushed him through.

Love, powerful? What was Dumbledore thinking? Love was what led Harry down to the Ministry, had led to the ambush and Sirius's death. If that was the effect of Harry's love on people then they were better off without it. Who would his love claim next? Remus? Ron and Hermione? Dumbledore? If love was the power the Dark Lord knows not then Harry didn't want it either.

The common room was empty when Harry got there, and so it should be, the hour late, but Harry's dorm room, on the other hand, was filled with light.

"Harry!" Seamus called out as Harry pushed into the room, remembering his remaining dorm mates too late. "Man, you look wild. Taking the after exam party seriously then. You got Ron with you? And Neville, I'd like to see him messed up. Wouldn't have known he was the wild type but it's always the quiet ones."

Harry didn't respond, crossing the room and turning a deaf ear and a blind eye to his dorm mates, his pulse quickening.

"Harry, are you alright?" Dean got a word in edgewise, cutting through Seamus's sleep deprived and intoxicated ramblings. Harry nodded curtly but did not speak, opening up his trunk instead and busying himself trying to find pyjamas. Behind him he could feel his dorm mates watching.

"Ya know, now I look you don't seem too good," Seamus commented warily. "I know you tend to be a bit rough and tumble but even by your standards…"

"Get out," Harry muttered.

"What?" Seamus stopped dead. Harry's jaw clenched painfully, an internal war raging.

"Get out," he repeated, louder. "Please."

"Harry?" Seamus's voice was alarmed. Harry just wished he would leave. "Mate, what…?" A hushed whisper interrupted and Harry couldn't have been more grateful for Dean's intervention. He kept his back to them, hunched over his trunk, waiting in agony.

"Harry, mate," Dean's voice was tentative, though with the veneer of normality. "We're going to the common room so… if you want to talk…" Harry gave a firm nod, screwing up his face. Just a bit longer.

The dormitory door opened and then, a moment later, it closed once more. Arms shaking Harry reached into his trunk and picked up his Physiology textbook, satisfyingly heavy in his hands, and, with an animalistic cry of rage, Harry threw it with all his might.

It struck the wall, falling heavily to the floor with a thump.

It wasn't enough. Harry's statistics textbooks was next, and then the Pokémon battling one, but still it wasn't enough. He tossed his clothes out of his trunk, and his potions kit, threw his bedding away and kicked and slammed the frame of his four poster bed. Everything within arms reach was picked up and discarded, some things multiple times such that loose pages and pillow feathers started to fall around the room. He threw, punched and kicked until all the anger and frustration pent up inside him was spent and he slumped to the floor next to his now empty trunk.

He tipped his head back, taking solace in the pain of it striking the bed post and the tears in his eyes that most certainly had not been there before, and he cried, cried until there was nothing left to cry.

Sometime later he became aware again, his tears dried up, and his eyes dully looked at the mess that surrounded him. Textbooks, old homework assignments, nothing to excite his interest until his eyes fell upon a thick leather bound tome.

Almost nervously Harry scooted towards the photo album, a large part of him feeling unworthy to even touch it, yet despite this he still managed to crack it open, and set it in his lap.

And there was Sirius, smiling broadly up at him, dressed in a fine suit and standing next to his equally well dressed best friend and his new, beautiful bride. And as he looked Harry's heart broke. Sirius would never smile like that again. He would never do anything again.

He shut the album. Unable to move, so tired, physically and emotionally, Harry leaned back against the side of the bed and, cradling the photo album to his chest, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

To rmhoag: I'll be putting a list of the Pokémon owned by the main characters on the last chapter (which comes out next week).

By main characters I'm sure you mean Harry, Ron and Hermione but what other characters do you want to see the teams for. Everyone let me know in the reviews of characters other than the main trio that you want me to give the Pokemon teams for so far.

Thanks to DelugeLeader 666 for answering the question of the day. Your answer of Ditto is an interesting one, though I would say that since all Pokémon are supposed to be descended from Mew then I'm not sure that logic holds. Anyway, Ditto is a great Pokémon, and especially useful for breeding. Latios is a very cool Pokémon as well.

This chapter's question of the day is below.

 _QOTD: How good of a Chosen One do you think Neville would have been if Voldemort had gone after him instead of Harry?_

For me I feel like Neville has just as much in the way of skills and talent as Harry has but I do think Neville would have struggled more with his lack of confidence. I'd imagine it'd be even harder living up to his grandmother's expectations if he was the boy-who-lived and he would struggle even more to find himself than he does in the books. Harry, meanwhile, learned to have confidence in himself from an early age because he was the only one who was going to look out for him with the Durlseys.

So, that's what I think. What do you think about Neville being the boy-who-lived? Leave a comment in the reviews.


	43. Sirius's Last Gift

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

One week passed. One week of drama and controversy and uproar. Yet for Harry it was unnaturally still. The goings on of the rest of the Pokémon world didn't reach him, not able to penetrate the bubble of apathy he held protectively around himself.

He was in his dormitory again, the room back to how it usually looked but quite bare, four mostly packed trunks sitting at the foot of the other four beds.

His dorm mates had not mentioned Harry's rampage that night, and for that Harry was grateful. Dean and Seamus were far from having the full picture of what had happened but even so they could guess the important parts. Most of it had been in the next morning's edition of the Daily Prophet.

Delores Umbridge had been incensed, beyond angry not only to see Dumbledore return to the school but also by the fact that Hagrid had accompanied him back. And then when the Daily Prophet had started to arrive, loudly declaring the return of You-know-who, she lost it completely, screaming about conspiracies and lies and singling out Harry in particular to blame for being behind it.

At least that's what Harry had heard. He had not been there that morning and had for the most part remained in the safety of his dorm room, only finally starting to emerge and return to the student body once his friends had all been discharged from the Hospital Wing with clean bills of health.

There was a knock on the door. "Harry?"

Remus Lupin stood in the doorway, looking older and tireder than Harry had ever seen him look before. Heavy bags hung from his eyes and his face looked unhealthily pale. He had escaped injury in the battle, one of the few who did, on both sides. Tonks was still in St Mungo's, Harry'd heard, and Moody had gained a couple more scars to add to his collection.

"I thought you knew I was here," Remus said when Harry didn't speak, stepping into the room. "Ron told me you'd be down in a minute."

"I've been packing," Harry told him, pointing to the trunk that sat at his feet. In truth he'd finished packing some time ago and had since been moving things aimlessly from one side of his trunk to the other.

He hadn't wanted to see Remus, not so soon after everything that had happened. Though he liked the man, loved him, even, he could not bare to be reminded of Sirius more than he already was. And though Remus would never blame him he was also painfully aware that it was because of him, Harry, that Remus had lost his best friend.

"Well then, it seems you've been putting the time to good use," Remus commented lightly. Harry doubted he was fooled. "I was just about to head off, I've got to hurry if I want to get down to London by tomorrow."

Harry nodded absently. "Have a safe trip."

Remus was quiet.

"I've actually got something to give you, before I go," Remus told him, walking forwards towards Harry and digging into the bag that hung from one shoulder, pulling out a medium sized square black case. There were no markings but, judging by the way Remus was holding it, it was quite heavy.

"What is it?" Harry asked curiously. He had not expected any sort of gift. He was half convinced Remus was about to play some sort of cruel joke on him.

If it was a joke then Remus was playing it with an extremely straight face. He did not answer Harry's question, instead reaching forward to where he'd placed the box on Harry's bed and undoing the silver latches, pulling the lid open.

"Sirius was hopeful to get both of them before you were due to join us for the summer," Remus told him and his voice shook ever so slightly. "However, time was not on our side and this is all he'd managed to dig up. I assume you know what it is?"

Harry nodded. Though he'd never seen one in person he'd seen enough pictures, and the royal blue orb looked exactly the same in person. Charizardite X.

"I know Sirius was quite disappointed not to get the Y stone," Remus commented as Harry stared down at the Mega Stone on his bed. "That is what James used, back in the day. I will keep an eye out for it but I know Sirius would have wanted you to have this one. Paired with your Key Stone you'll be able to Mega Evolve Charizard."

Harry did not know how to respond. He was overcome, the emotions he'd been trying to suppress rising to the surface. His throat tightened painfully and he swallowed, even as he felt tears start to build up in his eyes. He turned to Remus.

"I can't take this." His voice was barely more than a whisper.

"You can, Harry," Remus told him calmly. "I know how you are feeling, I know, I blame myself too." Remus paused, collecting himself. "But no one forced Sirius to fight that night and none of us could have stopped him. Sirius was going to do what he wanted to do."

"It wasn't his fault," Harry choked.

"I'm not saying it is," Remus assured him. "But it wasn't your fault either, and it wasn't even mine. You know what will be our fault?" Harry looked at him. "If we allow Sirius's death to stop us from living. Sirius fought so we could be free and happy and it would be a poor way to repay him by not doing our best to do just that."

Harry didn't say anything. For however nice Remus's words sounded there was still a dull ache in his chest that would not shift.

"Anyway, that's what Dumbledore said to me, fourteen years ago," Remus admitted with a sigh.

"Did it work?" Harry asked. Remus paused thoughtfully.

"After a time," he admitted. "It was not easy. It's good that it's not easy. But eventually you'll start to remember those that remain, those that still rely on you to live. Sirius is in a better place now, and one day we'll meet again." Remus clapped him on the arm. "Until that day comes we must endeavour to live a life he'd be proud of."

"And how do I do that?" Harry asked dryly. Remus favoured him with a long look.

"Live."

Remus left without saying goodbye. He'd see him at King's Cross tomorrow anyway. For a long moment Harry was left alone, staring down at the Mega Stone before him.

A rustling sound by the door caught Harry's attention and he looked up.

Ginny stood in the doorway, looking cautious as though worried she was intruding on something personal. Madam Pomfrey felt Ginny was well enough to recover out on her own but the scar where Bellatrix's knife had dug into her neck stood out angrily against her pale skin. It would fade over time but the scar would never be gone, not the one on Ginny's mind at any rate. It was shocking the horrors that one fourteen year old girl could face.

Ginny took a step forward hesitantly. "I saw Professor Lupin leave," she explained. "I'm not intruding, am I?" After a long moment Harry shook his head. She'd known Sirius too.

"Can I come in?"

Harry nodded.

Ginny moved awkwardly into the room, almost as though she thought Harry might change his mind. But he didn't. He didn't mind her being there. Like Neville, Luna, Ron and Hermione she now shared something with him that was a bond too powerful to ignore.

And yet Ginny was nervous, shifting from one foot to the other and reminding Harry of the way she used to act around him, before realising it was completely different. That Ginny had had a crush on him and her behaviour had been driven by her embarrassment and her fear of making a fool of herself. This Ginny was concerned for him. What had he done to deserve friends like this?

Ginny's eyes fell on the Mega Stone.

"So, eh," she said awkwardly. "Is that a Mega Stone? For Charizard?" Harry nodded. "Is that why Professor Lupin was here? He wanted to give you this?" Ever so slightly Harry flinched, and judging by the look of regret on Ginny's face she'd noticed.

"It's from Sirius," he said roughly, clearing his throat as his voice tailed off pathetically. "He was collecting them before… He was trying to get the other one, the Charizardite Y."

"Oh," Ginny said. She looked lost as to how to respond.

"I'm not keeping it," Harry said, deciding there on the spot that he could not accept the gift. "I'll hand it back to Remus at King's Cross. He'll find another use for it."

"But he wants you to have it," Ginny said pointedly. "That's why he gave it to you."

"I don't deserve it," Harry said hoarsely. "It should go to another trainer. Someone better."

"But it's for you, Harry," Ginny told him. "Sirius got the stone for you."

"And how did I repay him?" Harry shot back. "I went and put myself in danger, risking my own life after I told him it was too dangerous for him to come to Hogwarts."

"You were right," Ginny argued. "What with Umbridge and the cameras… Besides, the reason you went down to London anyway was to try and set him free."

"And instead I forced him to come and save me," Harry retorted. "I walked right into a trap. I trusted Malfoy for goodness sake. If I had just stayed here and left it to the Legion…"

"You made the best decision with the information you had available," Ginny told him firmly. "And remember, I was tricked too. And so were Ron and Hermione."

"That's different."

"How?" Ginny asked. "The only reason it's different is because you insist on taking on all the responsibility. I am just as much at fault as you are."

"But you were just trying to help me," Harry argued. "You didn't know."

"I was trying to help Sirius, Harry, and I had just the same information as you did so…"

"Ginny, stop!" Ginny did, her mouth open slightly mid-word. Harry sighed. "How can you do this?" He asked. "How can you try and defend me after what happened? After what happened to you? You almost died, Ginny." Ginny's mouth snapped shut. Her hand twitched unconsciously towards the scar on her neck.

"Yeah," she said softly, catching herself. "Yeah, I almost died." Silence hung in the air between them, Ginny's head bent downwards and her eyes gazed tiredly into the stone floor beneath them. Then she looked up and her chocolate brown eyes met his emerald green.

"What happened to me was terrifying," she admitted. "I don't ever want to feel helpless like that again. But if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have the chance to feel anything at all. You sacrificed yourself for me, which is by far the bravest thing that I have ever seen. How can I blame you for anything when you would willing give up your life for mine?"

Harry had no answer. When she said it like that it seemed so clear. But she was forgetting that it was because of him that she had been there in the first place, because of him that Bellatrix had been forced to take her hostage. He glanced over at the Mega Stone.

"I'll give it to Charlie," he said eventually, his voice clear and focused. "He could use it for his Charizard."

"Harry, no!"

"I should give my Pokémon to the Legion too," he continued, ignoring Ginny's protests. "Charizard certainly would be useful to someone like Mad-Eye or Kingsley. Maybe I could give Pikachu to Remus."

"Harry, listen to yourself," Ginny implored. "You're talking crazy."

"My Pokémon are strong, Ginny, they can help."

"You're strong too, Harry. And your Pokémon are stronger with you."

"That's not true, not true," Harry denied. He was spiralling. "It's too much, Ginny, too much. First Cedric, now Sirius. I'm too weak, I'm too slow, I can't…"

And as he turned himself to face Ginny he was met with a blazing look that stopped him dead. In one moment he fell silent as Ginny stepped forward through the space between them and pressed her lips to his.

It was much like his kiss with Cho, in the sense that it caught him completely by surprise. Like Cho, Ginny's lips pressed against his, almost seeming to demand his attention. But unlike with Cho Harry didn't push back. He didn't respond either. He just stood there, frozen in place.

A moment later Ginny stepped away. Her face was flushed, her breathing fast and ragged, and she nervously glanced up to meet his gaze.

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out.

"I've got to go," Ginny blurted out suddenly, her face going completely red, and she bowed her head and strode straight for the door. Harry tried to call out after her, but there appeared to be a disconnect between his brain and his body and instead he just stood there, watching her go.

"Whoa, careful," Ron stumbled, alarmed as Ginny almost walked right into him coming the other way. "Ginny?" But Ginny didn't stop.

Ron turned to the room. "What was that about?"

"Nothing," Harry said, a bit too quickly. Ron was looking at _him_ weirdly now. "She just forgot to pack something."

"Right," Ron said, his voice doubtful. "Okay then. So what's that?" He pointed to the box on his bed. Turning quickly, Harry closed the container carrying the Mega Stone.

"Something Remus gave me," Harry answered and left it at that. He picked up the box and placed it down into his trunk, closing the lid behind it. He didn't want to have to talk about it again.

Ron didn't press the matter.

"So, you all packed then?" He asked. Harry nodded.

"You?"

"Just about," Ron told him, wandering over to his own trunk and glancing inside. "I just need to go visit Hagrid, he said he had some berries for Metang, though how he can actually eat things I can't even begin to understand."

Ron had taken possession of the Metang that had come to their aid at the Ministry. Already the steel and psychic type had taken quite a liking to the redheaded boy. And though Ron commented that Metang turned out 'alright' in the end Harry knew it was an understatement. Ron had caught Metang for one reason and that was because he had protected his sister.

"I'm just going down there now," Ron continued, jerking his head in the direction of the grounds and, beyond, Hagrid's cabin. "I actually came up here to see if you wanted to come. Hagrid would love to see you again before we leave."

Harry would love that too but he had other plans. Somewhere else in the castle was somewhere Harry really needed to be.

* * *

"I'll catch you later," Harry promised as they split up on their way down the stairs, Ron continuing on towards the Entrance Hall and out onto the grounds while Harry took a right, following the corridor along to the Hospital Wing.

"Mr Potter, I had a feeling I would be seeing you today," Madam Pomfrey commented as he walked in the door. Eevee, who she'd been tending to, turned around at the mention of his name and leapt towards him, Harry catching him instinctively before he could hit the ground.

Eevee had grown a lot since he'd first hatched, now actually big enough to fill up Harry's hands as he carried him, but he was still as young as ever. Every time Harry visited Eevee's ears would perk up in excitement and every time he would leap into Harry's arms, jumping further and feeling heavier each time.

According to Madam Pomfrey he was in perfect health.

"Usually a trainer would have taken over Eevee's care a while ago," Madam Pomfrey told him. "But since Eevee is, technically, a wild Pokémon I have held off until I felt he was ready to face the world at large."

"Is he ready, then?" Harry asked. He'd have to say goodbye to Eevee, although he would be leaving for the summer anyway and Eevee couldn't stay in the Hospital Wing forever.

Madam Pomfrey scrutinised him thoughtfully. "Yes," she said. "However, I am rethinking. It seems to me that it would be a much better idea if Eevee were to find a trainer, more specifically, you."

"You mean for over the summer?" Said Harry.

"Permanently," Pomfrey responded. "The two of you have a bond, one formed through Eevee's hatching and strengthened by your near daily visits. Oh, don't look so surprised, Potter. I wasn't born yesterday."

Harry hesitated. "Are you really sure this is a good idea?" He asked. "Leaving Eevee with me?" Madam Pomfrey understood what he was saying.

"No one will care more completely for this Pokémon than you, Harry," she told him. "Yes, I'm quite sure."

Harry wasn't. Almost exactly a year ago he'd been in a very similar situation and back then he had chosen to say goodbye to Lapras, knowing he wasn't cut out for a life of fighting against Voldemort. And neither would Eevee.

And yet, as Harry looked down at Eevee's hopeful little face, he found himself struggling to say no. Perhaps he needed Eevee more than Eevee needed him. He took a shaky breath.

"What do you think, Eevee?" He asked. "Do you want to be my Pokémon?"

It was a stupid question, Eevee almost bouncing in his hands to show just how much he wanted to stay with him, and for the first time in a week Harry felt a little warmth in his heart.

"Okay then," Harry said with a soft smile. "It's your call." He unloaded Eevee onto the bed, freeing up his hands, and Eevee looked eagerly up at him. Harry grabbed a spare Pokéball from his belt, allowed himself a brief moment of doubt, and then turned to Eevee.

Eevee's tail was wagging ferociously as the Pokéball approached and, not able to wait, Eevee thrust his head forward to meet the Pokéball halfway. He dissolved into red energy, flowing inside the Pokéball which closed around him with a snap.

And with a soft ping it was confirmed. Harry caught Eevee.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the delay in uploading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

The next chapter will be the last of this story so if you want me to list the Pokémon teams for certain characters let me know and I'll have them up at the end of the next chapter.

Thanks to those who answered the question of the day of the last chapter. Given Harry receiving his Mega Stone I think it is the right time to be asking the below question.

 _QOTD: What is your favourite Mega Evolution?_

For me I don't necessarily have one standout favourite but I do have a few I really like. Gallade, Lucario, Lopunny, Sceptile, Beedrill, Rayquaza and Mewtwo's Y form are for me the best Mega Evolutions in terms of design.

So what do you think? What is your favourite Mega Evolution? Let me know in the reviews.


	44. Mega Charizard X

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The end of term feast that night was a somber affair, every student in the school aware they were about to leave the relative safety of Hogwarts and venture out into the dangerous, uncertain world back home. Dumbledore even capped off the night with a speech, announcing that the war had truly begun, that there would be tough times ahead and loss and hardship for all, and urging everyone that the only thing they could do, the thing that would keep them safe, and free, was to come together as one and help each other. For they were only as strong as they stood united, as weak as they were divided. It was a moving speech.

Harry didn't see any of this, having decided to skip the feast for the seclusion of his dorm room. He'd been getting a lot of looks from his fellow students after the last week as more and more information leaked out about what had happened at the Ministry. He'd been getting looks all his years at Hogwarts but now he knew it'd be a thousand times worse, and he was in no state to entertain their curiosity.

The following morning Harry kept his head down as he travelled down to the castle doors and stepped aboard a Zebstricka pulled carriage with Ron and Hermione. He didn't say anything, instead choosing to look out over the castle grounds for the last time for the next few months, wondering whether it would still be the same once he returned. Hogwarts had survived the last war, perhaps it would survive again.

Hermione and Ron didn't interrupt his introspection, seeming to understand that he needed time to himself, and they didn't say anything even as they pulled themselves from the carriage and boarded the Hogwarts Express. They found an empty compartment and settled inside, storing away their trunks in the luggage rack and falling silent.

As an after thought Harry pulled out Eevee's Pokéball, releasing the small normal type Pokémon. He looked around excitedly, quickly scrambling across Harry's lap to press his nose up against the glass of the window, looking out in fascination at the rapidly emptying Hogsmeade Station. He'd never left the castle before, having been born and raised in the care of Madam Pomfrey and the Hospital Wing, so Harry imagined that everything around him, from the train to the station to the people, must be so very exciting.

The Hogwarts Express pulled away from the station and so they remained, quiet. After some time Eevee seemed to grown tired of watching the scenery fly by and returned to curl up in Harry's lap, Harry's fingers automatically running through Eevee's luscious fur.

The three students continued to sit in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, until a knock was heard on their compartment door and caused them to look up.

"Hey guys." It was Neville. "Mind if we join you?" Behind him stood Luna and Ginny.

"Of course, Neville," Hermione said immediately.

"Come in," said Ron.

Harry nodded.

The three students shuffled their way inside and, briefly, the compartment became cramped and chaotic as the newcomers sought to tidy away their trunks before settling down for the ride. Across the way, as far away from Harry as she could be, Ginny settled in her seat and Harry glanced over, the red head quickly averting her eyes. In Harry's lap Eevee looked up at him, complaining that he'd stopped petting.

Even with the new arrivals the compartment stayed quiet. It seemed like none of them really wanted to talk, instead preferring to just take comfort in each other's presence. Harry, for his part, kept his hand idly stroking Eevee's soft fur, feeling it calm him as the Hogwarts Express wound its way south.

Of course the journey could not continue that way. Not with the way this year had gone so far.

Several hours into the journey Draco Malfoy appeared in the doorway, alone, with thunder in his eyes.

"Potter," he snapped, his voice shaking. Harry faced him with dead eyes. "Got anything to say for yourself?" Harry blinked. He shook his head.

That only seemed to infuriate Malfoy further. "The nerve of you, Potter," he snarled. "To do what you've done to me and not even have the guts to admit to it. You threw my father in Azkaban. You! And I will not forget it."

Harry stood up, so suddenly that Malfoy flinched back, but he did not make any more sudden movements. Instead he simply handed Eevee over to Hermione, the normal type shifting slightly in his sleep, and turned to face Malfoy head on.

"I don't care about your father, Malfoy," Harry told him quietly. "I don't care if he's in Azkaban, I don't care if he's out. I don't care one way or another what the hell Lucius Malfoy is doing but I'll tell you one thing." He stepped forward. They were face to face now, mere inches apart.

"If you ever do anything, anything at all, that is designed to hurt the people I care about, I'll kill you." He said this with such a straight face, no hint of inflection in his voice, that Malfoy looked uncomfortable. His eyes narrowed.

"I don't believe you," he said, and he smirked. "You don't have it in you, Potter." Harry's expression did not change.

"Look me in the eyes, Malfoy," Harry told him. "Tell me I'm lying. You may think that I sent your father to prison but do you know what you did? You killed my godfather. You are the reason he's dead. You destroyed the closest connection I had to my parents… and if you don't think I won't be willing to kill you after that…" He trailed off.

Malfoy swallowed. "I guess we'll see, Potter," he drawled.

"I guess we will," Harry agreed and he swung the door shut in Malfoy's face. There was silence in the compartment.

"Harry?" Hermione said weakly. Harry ignored her. In Hermione's arms Eevee roused himself, looking confused, and Harry walked over to take him back, the baby Pokémon happily settling down now that he was back in Harry's arms as Harry returned to his seat. He ignored his friends' worried looks, not wanting to face whatever they had to say to him, and looked out the compartment window.

He had meant it. Every word he'd said was said with complete honesty and he hoped that Malfoy had recognised that because he really did not want to have to deal with him. But he knew it was wishful thinking that Malfoy would stay out of the fight. He was already in it. His role in getting Harry down there, working with the Death Eaters to plot his capture, had proven that he'd picked his side. And if what he had seen was any indication he was a lot deeper than Harry had thought. For in that moment that Voldemort had fled from the Ministry Harry had seen the humanoid figure of Kadabra standing behind him.

Malfoy had chosen his side.

Soon enough London was in sight, not a word having been uttered since Malfoy's appearance in the compartment, and the Hogwarts Express started slowing to a stop as they arrived at King's Cross Station, the six of them rousing themselves lethargically and starting to move.

Harry looked to Eevee, still sitting in his lap, pondering whether to return him to his Pokéball, but with the movement around him the baby Pokémon was excited once more and so instead Harry lifted him up to his shoulder, safely away from the chaos of trunks being lowered from the luggage racks, as steadily the six of them started to leave.

The platform was busy once they exited the train, Harry and the others some of the last off as families were reunited after another long year, this time with added worry and relief. It took them a while to find their own way, though Luna quickly disappeared in the direction of a tall blond man who could only be her father, before Mrs Weasley hurried into view.

"Oh, there you are," she fretted anxiously, rushing forward and pulling them into a hug one by one. "Come on, quickly, let's get out of here." Behind her stood Remus, still looking tired, and Moody, limping forward with his Murkrow on his shoulder.

"We'll be going then," Ron said, turning to Neville. "See you next year, mate."

"Yeah," Neville agreed. "See you later." He looked around.

"I spotted your grandmother over there, Neville," Remus said helpfully, pointing through the crowd to where Augusta Longbottom stood, back straight and proud.

"Thank you, Professor Lupin," Neville said gratefully. "Bye." And he disappeared into the crowd.

"Your father is waiting with the van," Mrs Weasley told her children. "And Hermione, dear, you'll be coming with us. Your parents will meet up with you at the Burrow."

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley," Hermione said politely. Mrs Weasley turned to Harry.

"Look after yourself, dear, alright," she told him, her brow creased in concern. "We'll see you soon enough. Stay safe." And with that Mrs Weasley led her two children and Hermione away from the group and disappeared from view.

"You'll be coming with us, Harry," Remus said, surprising him. "The Dursleys have been informed that they won't be required to pick you up. We thought it would be better if you had some security on your way back." That made a lot of sense.

"Come on," Moody grunted, turning and clunking his way towards the exit, Harry and Remus following behind him. As they went they bumped into several of Harry's school friends, mostly from the DA. Dean and Seamus clapped him on the shoulder as he passed. Angelina Johnson gave him a firm nod. Colin Creevey wished him luck.

Mad-Eye led Harry and Remus out to a nearby parking lot, about ten minutes away from the station itself. There they found Moody's Volkswagen, recognisable simply because no other car in that condition would still be allowed on the road. Harry climbed into the back, Moody and Remus taking the driver's and front passenger's seats respectively, and Moody's old reliable kicked into life and started rattling its way out of London.

The journey seemed to fly by, though Harry knew it was only because he was paying so little attention, but before he knew it Moody was pulling in to Privet Drive and came to a rumbling stop outside number four.

"You take it from here, Lupin," Moody growled. "You blend in better." Remus left the car without argument and Harry, prodding awake a sleepy Eevee, did so too, watching as Remus pulled his trunk out of Moody's boot and rolled up to the front door.

"This is where I leave you," Remus said, lifting the spare key out from under a plant pot. Harry was sure the Dursleys wouldn't be pleased to know their secret hiding place wasn't so secret anymore. "We'll be back in a month or so. In the meantime, stay safe. We'll see you soon, Harry."

And with that Remus left, climbing back into Moody's Volkswagen, and the two of them disappeared down Privet Drive and out of sight, leaving the street silent and empty.

Harry turned and unlocked the front door, carrying his trunk inside. It was deathly silent in the house, the Dursleys must either be asleep or out, either one Harry didn't really care. He closed the door behind him and slowly climbed up the staircase, idly noting Eevee's interest in his surroundings as he did his best to pull his trunk up the stairs without making too much noise. He made it to his bedroom without interruption, the room cold and the air stale, and he dropped his trunk by the end of the bed and sat down. Eevee jumped up beside him.

It was dark, the only light shining through from the street lamps outside Harry's bedroom window, yet Harry didn't bother to turn on the light. And though Harry felt like doing nothing, like sitting there and allowing time to pass without his input or experience, he knew there was something he simply had to do.

He moved over to his trunk, flipping the lid open carefully, and found what he needed within moments. Eevee looked over curiously, wondering what was happening, but Harry didn't explain.

"You'll need to go inside your Pokéball," Harry told the Pokémon. Eevee didn't look happy about that but he didn't complain either, merely standing there and allowing Harry to do what he wanted to him. And with Eevee safely back in his Pokéball Harry closed his trunk and left the room.

Harry exited number four as inconspicuously as he had arrived, glancing down to both ends of the street to ensure no one was there to see him, clutching something awkwardly under his arm. He couldn't hang around here, he needed secrecy and seclusion, and so he quickly hurried away, his goal the local park.

As Harry had anticipated the park was empty and, with the cover of trees to the side and the darkness of night lowering visibility, he had the perfect place to complete his task. Slowly, placing the box down at his feet, he released Charizard.

Charizard appeared with a low rumble, not loud enough to concern Harry that he might have been overheard, yet still he looked around furtively. Charizard watched him as he did so, most likely wondering why he'd been called upon. Charizard spent his summers inside his Pokéball and had not expected to see the outside world until Harry was back at Hogwarts once more.

Meanwhile Harry, satisfied that nobody was watching, gently knelt down on the ground and opened the box. The Charizardite X glowed up at him, seeming to emit a certain light that he had not noticed in the illumination of his dormitory. He turned to Charizard.

"This is from Sirius," Harry told him and Charizard bowed his head in respect. He hadn't known Sirius that well but to Harry he'd meant the world, and so it did for Charizard too. "He was collecting the other one before… what happened." Charizard let out a small puff of air in sorrow.

"He wanted me to have this, for you," Harry told his Pokémon and Charizard leaned down to have a look himself. "With this stone and my Key Stone you'll be able to Mega Evolve, if you want. Do you want to, Charizard?" Charizard looked him in the eye and his meaning was clear. If Harry wanted it then so did he. Harry smiled.

Gently Harry lifted the Mega Stone out from its protective casing, marvelling at just how smooth the orb was. It felt delicate, as though it would smash if he held it too tight, and so it was with great care that he lifted it into the air.

Its place was on Charizard's back, in the circular slot fashioned into Charizard's armour, and Harry gently pushed it into place, worrying that it would simply fall loose once he let go. But it didn't. The Mega Stone was a perfect fit. He stepped back and faced Charizard.

"Okay," he said with a shaky breath. "Are you ready?" Charizard gave him a nod. With shaking hands Harry reached down the front of his shirt and pulled out his Key Stone, his father's Key Stone, and held the small marble sized stone in his fingers. "Let's go."

The effect was immediate, a building of power beneath his finger tips that seemed to battle with his pulse before falling into rhythm. Light spread from the Key Stone, reaching out towards Charizard, and from Charizard's back more light fought its way to him. The two streams met each other halfway, joining together in a burst of light, and Harry felt the humming power beneath his fingers grow stronger, the very feeling infiltrating every pore of his body as Charizard straightened up, his eyes gleaming with that same power, and he started to change.

Charizard started to glow. His body shone bright, so bright that most would look away, but Harry did not. He watched as Charizard grew, his wings becoming larger, his body becoming more fierce and jagged, angular features spreading across his form as the night air warmed with his very presence.

Eventually the light faded and Charizard stood before him in his new form, Mega Charizard X. Taller than before, with dark skin and a cobalt blue underbelly, brilliant blue flames burning from his mouth and ridges extending from his shoulders and back, Charizard looked down at him with gleaming red eyes and Harry looked up to meet them.

Power emanated from his Pokémon, waves that put everything else around him to shame, and Harry felt them stronger than anything. That power was inside him, radiating throughout his body, and as he closed his eyes to savour the feeling he felt Charizard along with him, his thoughts and Harry's side by side, connected by a power the likes of which he'd never felt before.

He sighed, realising he'd been holding his breath while the Mega Evolution had transpired, and his mind started to clear again as it became used to the energy that flowed through him. Yet Charizard didn't fade, their connection strong even as the energy that came with Mega Evolution faded into a dull hum.

Charizard let out a low growl, sounding ever so slightly different from what he had before, though it was no doubt that this was the same Pokémon, and Harry opened his eyes. Charizard looked down at him with wide, honest eyes, and Harry felt Charizard's realisation, his full understanding of everything Harry was thinking, everything Harry was going through. And Harry felt it too, the truth behind Charizard, and what made him him. And he understood.

With a weak smile Harry appreciated his Pokémon's concern, having no need to say it out loud, for Charizard felt his emotions as clearly as he did. He stepped forward without fear, reaching out a hand to touch Charizard for the first time in his new form, marvelling at the heat that burned warm within him even at rest, and gently laid his head on Charizard's neck.

There were many things Harry couldn't control. Many, many things and many of them were dangerous, and terrifying, and if Harry could do anything he would. But the future was unknown, the only thing certain being that there would be pain, and suffering, now and in the road ahead, and he held on to Charizard, his partner, his confidant, his equal, and his friend, and he prayed that one day things would be better. That one day it would be over.

And Harry James Potter, Pokémon trainer and fifteen year old boy, could not wait for that day to come.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you so much for reading. This is the end of Harry Potter and the Legion of Ho-oh, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Thanks to those who answered the question of the day of the last chapter. Since this is the final chapter of this story there won't be one this time but there is something else I wanted to ask.

The question of the day feature in this story seemed quite popular when it started but recently the number of responses has dropped significantly. I was also recently looking through the reviews and it struck me how little there was said about the actual story in these reviews in comparison to before I started it, which is kind of concerning given the point of the review system in the first place. So what I'm asking of you is; do you want me to continue doing questions of the day? Are there any things you think might improve it and make it better? Basically whatever thoughts you have about it let me know and I'll make my decision about it when I come round to uploading the next story in the series.

To Jacebrolar: Obviously I'm not going to give away whether the thing with Ginny means that Harry will end up with her or not but I will say something about the canon pairings.

Unless I'm specifically thinking of something different the canon pairings are my default and I think one of the reasons I tend to use them is just how unloved they seem to be in the Harry Potter community. Personally I blame the movies for this. They barely took the time to show Ginny as a character before making the romance between her and Harry and for Ron they messed with him consistently over the course of the movies, removing many of his best scenes and often giving them to Hermione. In the books the two complement each other but in the movies Hermione is just so much better than Ron and when Ron falls out with Harry in Goblet of Fire and Deathly Hallows both times you are left thinking that Harry's actually better off without him.

Now that I've finished with my rant I can say that my pairings have been finalised since very early on. Also I don't really have any ships for Pokémon, I don't really care that much about the characters. Except Brock. I want Brock to be happy.

I've had requests to list the Pokémon teams of certain characters so I've put those down below:

Harry: _Charizard, Talonflame, Pikachu, Eevee_

Ron: _Arcanine, Blastoise, Torkoal, Pidgeot, Machoke, Metang_

Hermione: _Noctowl, Mismagius, Flygon, Buizel, Espurr_

Neville: _Venusaur, Toxicroak, Scizor, Dewott, Pupitar_

Ginny: _Ninetales, Haunter, Bayleef_

Luna: _Espeon, Musharna, Loudred_

Draco: _Serperior, Honchkrow, Kadabra, Weavile, Pawniard_

Colin: _Ledian, Bibarel, Magneton_

Fred: _Kecleon, Volbeat, Magmar_

George: _Kecleon, Illumise, Electabuzz_

As usual there will be a two week break between stories, plenty of time for you to let me know what you think and to give your opinion on the question of the day conundrum. I'll leave you with a quick preview of the next story, Harry Potter and the Serpent's Secret:

 _Chapter 1: Horace Slughorn_

 _It had been a long summer._

 _Harry Potter, now sixteen years old, had never enjoyed his time with the Dursleys at Number Four Privet Drive. But since he first found out about Pokémon and that he had been signed up to learn at Hogwarts School of Pokémon Training it had never been this hard._

 _Over the years the summers spent with the Dursley family were long and torturous, only made bearable by the company of Harry's Pokémon as he so desperately craved to return to the Pokémon world._

 _This year was different. He still had his Pokémon, they weren't leaving him any time soon, and staying at the Dursleys had been long and torturous as always. But Harry didn't want to go back. He didn't want to do anything. For just a couple of months ago Harry had been hit with a loss so great he thought he'd never be able to recover._

 _The ringing of the doorbell caught his attention. There was some muffled movement, Uncle Vernon moving his sizeable bulk through the house to answer it, and then a brief exclamation. Harry did not react._

 _Yet, admittedly, he probably should. He could make a pretty good guess at who was at the door. If it was him he was right on time._


End file.
